Ford to launch Figo in India next month
Ford Motor Company has announced that it will launch sub-B category car 'Figo' in the Indian market by the end of next month.
The new compact car enters market further increasing the competition in the segment which generates 70% of the country's total new car sales. Figo will be the sixth new Ford model to be introduced in the country. It was launched by the chief minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi on Friday at the company's facility near the city of Chennai
Ford planned an investment of $500-million to build a new 40,000-sq-m plant to manufacture engines that will have the production capacity to 2.50 lakh units per year. The company has used up about 90% of this investment already though still some sections are to be added to the plant.
The company did not disclose any information about the pricing of the car. The president and MD of Ford India, Michael Boneham said "it will be very competitive. We will compete with i10 and Swift and others as we are targeting the segment, which accounts for 70% of all new vehicles sold in India."
The company will also launch 1.2 litre petrol and 1.4 litre diesel versions of Figo. Regarding volumes, the company said that the customers would determine the sales volume.
Figo will be manufactured both for domestic as well as the export market in the flexible manufacturing plant of the company. Ford is focusing on South Africa and ASEAN countries for export of the car in the near term.
The company is planning to launch a series of new products in the next year and a half. Mr Boneham further said that the company is focusing on the compact car segment but could also look at other segments.
The company has hired more than 700 employees in the assembly and engine plant in the last 12 months, and it will employ more when the plant reaches full capacity in about five to six years. About 79% per cent of the diesel engine parts and 60 per cent of the petrol engine components are sourced locally.
Tamil Nadu has seen many such names in the sector like Hyundai, BMW, Renault, Nissan invest in the state. Top ten global manufacturing centres are located in the state. M&M also announced plans to enter the state.
