Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director, Ford India, announced the plans of the company for its upcoming EcoSport compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Addressing the Indian market, Boneham said that the car will be introduced in the initial months of 2013. The production version of EcoSport was showcased at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Ford presented this car in Brazil just one day before its unveiling in Beijing.
EcoSport shares several components with the Fiesta and will be manufactured in Brazil, India and Thailand. EcoSport is set to hit 100 auto markets across the globe and will be launched in the most important markets first. Since EcoSport has already been introduced in Brazil, Ford probably considers that it is a crucial market for the model's success.
The company can also launch its new offering in China and other South American markets before bringing it to India. However, this will provide Renault and Mahindra sufficient time to consolidate the market share through their upcoming mini Xylo and Duster compact SUVs, respectively.
Boneham also said that the sub-4 metre SUV will benefit from the excise advantages that the government of India provides to compact vehicles measuring less than 4 metres. It is possible that the upcoming model will be priced close to the Fiesta.
He commented, “The car would be sub-four meters and this is important because of the benefits it delivers. But it will be class leading in terms of interior space and exterior design. One of the big learnings we took from Figo is that one needs to be completely immersed in customer research data before you design a product.”
Ford is investing $ 142 million to develop the EcoSport SUV at its production plant located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It will be the first model to be powered by its 1 L EcoBoost petrol engine. The car will also come with the 1.6 L 4 cylinder diesel unit that is used in the Fiesta and generates 118 hp of maximum power and 170 Nm of peak torque.
