Auto giants Ford & General Motors put new car platforms on hold due to a lukewarm response and slow sales for their products. Fiat-Chrysler meanwhile goes ahead with their plan to launch the Jeep with a petrol option.
In spite of having a reputation to be loud, brash and in-your-face, American vehicles never really took off in India. The two car giants, Ford and General Motors, have never really managed to create a long lasting impact in terms of sales in our industry. With no apparent boom in the near future the companies are having to re-think their strategies for the highly unpredictable Indian market.
Add to this the recently introduced diesel restrictions which have put the company’s SUVs under threat, have caused much worry to the auto giants. Moreover, as the days go by, more and more governments are seemingly supporting the idea of banning massive diesel engines. Thus, both companies have dropped their newer platforms which were to form the basis for a whole lot of upcoming products planned for our market.
Starting with Ford, the company was planning to introduce the BS400 platform, which was being developed in Ford’s research facility on the outskirts of Chennai. The company however seems to have dropped plans to introduce the platform any time soon. Moreover, Ford has launched several marketing initiatives and service incentives which have seen the sales rise by 30% in the first half of 2016. However, there are no new products in the pipeline for India, as the company’s immediate aim is to bring up the sales of the existing models
General Motors on the other hand have put their plans for introducing a new platform on hold. The new platform, dubbed the Global Emerging Market platform was supposed to form the basis for GM’s new launches in the future. However, the project which was to bring in a massive $1 billion investment in India has been put on hold due to the company’s unsatisfactory sales in our market. The new platform was designed to build low-cost vehicles which would rival the Marutis in our market.
Ford & GM Put New Car Platforms On Hold In India
– Ford and GM have put the future plans for new platforms on hold
– Ford will hold development on their BS400 and GM, their Global Emerging Market platform
– The move comes due to the unsatisfactory sales of their existing products
Source – EconomicTimes.com
