The Figo compact sedan and hatchback will be produced at the new facility in Sanand that is set to be inaugurated by Ford CEO Mark Fields by the end of March.
Ford India has three all-new launches in store for 2015 with the Figo compact sedan, hatchback and the new generation Endeavour SUV set to hit the market. Concentrating its efforts to become a mass market player, the company will be first launching the Figo compact sedan in July this year, which will be followed by the launch of the new generation Figo hatchback in September. The 2015 Endeavour will be launched by December in the country.
The Figo twins are extremely important for Ford India with the high volumes in compact sedan and hatchback segments. The all-new Figo sedan will be competing against the Tata Zest, Maruti DZire, Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent in the segment and was first showcased as a concept early last year. The Figo hatch, on the other hand, is going through a generation change and is expected to bring back the volumes that the outgoing model once commanded over competition. Both the models will be produced at Ford’s upcoming facility in Sanand.
The new facility has commenced trial production of the Ford Figo twins and is expected to commence full-scale production by mid-2015. Ford Global CEO Mark Fields will inaugurate the new facility by the end of the first quarter that will come with an installed capacity of 2.40 lakh cars and 2.70 lakh engines annually and will double the automaker’s total manufacturing capabilities to 6.10 lakh engines and 4.40 lakh vehicles per year in the country. Ford will also be exporting a host of products from the new plant.
Coming to the 2015 Ford Endeavour, the SUV will be imported via the CKD route in the country from Thailand. Set to compete against the Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Santa Fe, SsangYong Rexton and the likes, the new generation model will come with the new 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol, 3.2-litre and 2.2-litre diesel engines (engines for India not confirmed yet) and a host of gadgetry on board.
Source – Business Standard
