Ford officials have given some hint about their small car entry in india
When asked about Ford India’s small car plan
`It’s(small car) a segment we can’t ignore,” said McCormack – Ford india’s vice president for marketing and sales. “At some point we’ve got to be in that segment.”he added
When asked about Tata’s 1 lakh car plan
“We are always focused on what our consumers want… if our consumer comes back and says here are the trade-offs, I am willing to make ($3,000 car) and this is what I will accept and live with,” Ford India managing director and president Arvind Mathew said.
It’s Ford KA or Mazda2 for India
Unusually very tight lipped ford officials have given few indications on Ford small car entry in india. With this hint, Ford is joining with Honda,Toyota,Volkswagen in planning to sell small cars in India. It is believed that Ford will either use the existing Ikon or Fiesta platforms for a hatchback or it will tweak the new KA that Ford is developing jointly with Fiat in Europe. The new KA is expected to roll out in Europe next year. Fiat has already formally launched its euro small car Fiat 500 which is on the same platform as the new KA. But now many believe Ford may opt for Mazda2 which was formally previewed at the Geneva motor show earlier this year. The Mazda 2, when it debuted, got more wows than the fit/Jazz(Honda’s proposed small car for india). Also The Mazda2 can be a fairly decent India option and may even be cheaper to develop in India compared to the new KA. Ford already has both petrol and diesel engines that can be tweaked to enable the hatch to qualify for excise benefits. There’s a 1.4 litre duratorq (CRDi) diesel engine in the Fiesta and a1.3 litre petrol in the Ikon. Both may be likely probable if Ford decides to build an India-specific car on an existing platform. KA or Mazda2 whatever Ford opts for india surely it will have more impact on other manufacturers proposed small car.
source: bloomberg,livemint,overdrive and economictimes