Ford, The US car maker is generally very vocal about its plans. After Unveiling the EcoSport at the Auto expo in New Delhi, Ford is testing the car rigorously. Interestingly Ford has not bothered to camouflage the test cars and thanks to the Social media network and numerous spy pics of the Car under test, Ford EcoSport is already very famous name in the automobile industry.
EcoSports nearest rival the Renault Duster has been launched at a very competitive price and the response to it has exceeded all expectations. Ford seems to have pulled up its socks and are looking at localizing the the car heavily, the announcement of the same was made at the 4,00,000th engine rollout milestone at the Chennai plant. Ford India President and Managing Director Michael Boneham told reporters that the EcoSport will see localization of around 80% putting it in the same league as Ford Figo and Ford Classic, which are currently having 80% localization with most of the components supplied from local manufacturers.
EcoSport has always generated lots of interest because of its revolutionary design. It is looked upon as an ideal city car thanks to its high seating position and compact dimensions. Ford has confirmed that the car will be available in both petrol and diesel ending the speculation on the arrival of the award winning EcoBoost petrol motor to India. The EcoSport is based upon the Fiesta Platform and is expected to have class leading ride and handling.
The company has a manufacturing unit at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai and has set up its second plant at Sanand in Gujarat as part of its plans to have eight new products by 2015. The facelifted Figo will be the first of the lot to be launched followed by the all new Endeavour. the EcoSport will be launched early next year and thanks to the Localization the pricing is expected to be competitive.
