The smart American has certainly played its cards and finally it has dropped the anchor at the right place. Ford India made a wrong judgement by overpricing the Fiesta but proved out to be smart by launching the EcoSport at the very right time and pricing the Fiesta facelift spot on. Though the EcoSport was launched last year, it did not impact the sales figure too much as the American automaker is busy exporting the insta hit compact SUV. The wrong move of pricing the Fiesta too high did cost the company as the sales never even bothered to contribute. Ford’s sales fell by 17 percent when compared to that of 2011. Last year the American manufacturer sold little above 80,000 units.
Figo – The hatch has been the best seller for Ford till the launch of the EcoSport. Careful study of monthly sales reveals that the sales fell down gradually. From an average of 6000 units per month, the volume crashed down to 2000 units a month, the facelift was decent enough but that didn’t lure customers. Anyhow this model will be coming to an end with the new KA series Figo launching next year.
Fiesta Classic – Previously known as the Fiesta, the name was adapted once the new generation was launched. The Classic when launched (as Fiesta) creating a buzz in the market with fuel economy quoted more than 20 km/l but soon the competitors’ vehicles did crush this car. The Classic is still a classic and will be discontinued soon. The vehicle sells about 500 units a month, not bad since it is still surviving in the market. In no time though, it will all be over as the sub 4-metre Figo sedan comes to replace it.
Fiesta – The perfect spoiling element; the company used aircraft grade titanium materials we guess, for which it was priced premium for a non premium product. Well this car is a good one but the pricing let everyone down; the Fiesta could not even beat the Classic in sales. The car did not sell 1000 units even once and eventually that led to stoppage of the pre-facelift Fiesta with only 7446 units being sold. Ford did learn from its mistakes and has priced the new Fiesta very aggressively.
EcoSport – The much needed trump card for Ford India, the EcoSport surely had a lot to prove and it did not let the Indians down. It came like a hurricane and dethroned the Duster instantly. Funky and filled with features coupled with good engine options, the EcoSport had every element an Indian could ask for. This has been the best seller since its launch and the graph is looking very promising. With waiting periods extending to 8 months, one can understand the expectations of the population from this compact SUV. Though there is lot of demand in the country, Ford has prioritised exports of the EcoSport to meet foreign thirst (20% are exported). An average of 4500 units of the EcoSport are sold every month, the future curve is expected to be plotted on the positive side.
Endeavour – The big SUV from Ford has not seen good days for quite some time with numbers falling from hundreds to twenties and thirties. The Endeavour has been in the market for a while and it did well till the introduction of SUVs from other companies, mainly Toyota. This SUV has been dealing with low volume just like other SUVs in the segment. The American giant launched the facelifted version this year hoping to improve sales but the charts disagreed to change its course.