Not able to withstand the rise in the input cost, Ford India has proposed the rise of price for its Figo [images] from May end. The cost of Ford now is in the range of Rs3.5-4.48 lakhs which may see the rise. The company’s Executive Director said that there has been a rise in the industry cost, steel price rise and rise in the cost of components and transportation. The new price will come into effect from June 1 which is expected to be below 2% he revealed. Figo came to the market in March as a 1.2 petrol and a 1.4 diesel version at Rs3.5 lakhs and Rs4.48 lakhs respectively. Since then Ford India got bookings for 20000 units thereby making a waiting period of 4 weeks. He said Figo, launched by the company’s CEO during last year, will continue to be the mainstay in the Indian market for some time now.
Since the demand for Figo is on the increase, the company does not want to introduce any new model to disturb the tempo. The demand has prompted the company to initiate the second shift at the Chennai plant from July, by employing 700 new people. The man power will be distributed to shop floor and engineering section. The monthly capacity of the Chennai facility is 6000 units as the second shift is focused to increase the number substantially. Currently there is a reduction in the waiting period, from six weeks to four weeks, and steps are being taken to reduce it still further. Efforts are on to transit the car to South Africa, by increasing the output at the Chennai plant.