Ford has just sent out a press release confirming the official number of bookings it has received for the EcoSport. The American automaker has received an astonishing 30,000 bookings for the Ford EcoSport, in just a matter of 17 days. This not only makes the EcoSport the most successful Ford launch but also the most successful car launch in India in recent times. Such unprecedented demand has never been seen for any vehicle in India. The EcoSport easily outshines the high demand received by Mahindra and Renault for the XUV500 and Duster respectively.
The real work starts now for Ford as the company has to ensure customers get their cars as soon as possible and there is fairness in allotment of the vehicles. Many buyers are ready to pay an extra Rs. 50,000/- to the dealer to get their cars sooner, something which Ford should ensure the dealer doesn’t accept. With 30,000 bookings under Ford’s belt, we can expect the waiting period to stretch up to six months easily as the company is only producing around 5000 units a month. Ford has a flexible assembly line and can boost production immediately.
Boosting production for Ford is not a tough task at all but the issue is mostly from the supplier end. The company says it is working closely with suppliers to boost output and deliver cars faster. Ford claims the EcoSport is doing good for its other products as well. Footfalls at Ford dealerships have increased dramatically and some buyers are also looking at other Ford vehicles. We can only confirm if the EcoSport is casting a positive effect on other products after looking at the sales data of July 2013.
Last month, Ford saw a decline in sales of the Figo and we feel many Figo buyers are opting for the EcoSport as the base variant of the compact SUV is cheaper than the top-end Figo. Last month Ford shipped 4002 units of the EcoSport while 2504 units of the Figo were sold and 233 units of the Fiesta were sold. Sales of the Fiesta have improved over the previous months but is still not good enough considering how capable the car is. The Endeavour continues to sell in double digits (42 units in June) and a significant upgrade is expected in the near future.
