Ford Figo New Ford Car In India, Ford Figo Price, Ford Figo Specifications

ford india, ford small car, ford figo price, ford figo india, figo car 

US auto giant Ford Motor Co on Wednesday unveiled its first small car for the Indian market, "Ford Figo".

The Figo's launch "signals Ford's intention to compete in India's largest and most important small-car market segment," the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker said in an announcement.

A little over 1 million passenger cars are sold in India each year, according to Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer. The automaker expects India to become the third largest market for small cars, behind the U.S. and China, by 2030.

India-based Tata Motors and Japan's Suzuki Motors are currently among the country's biggest-selling carmakers.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) has invested $500 million in its factory near Chennai, India, to prepare it for high-volume production of the Figo, the automaker said, doubling the plant's capacity to 200,000 units per year.

The Figo, which is colloquial Italian for "cool", will be manufactured at the company's Chennai facility and launched in markets by early 2010.

The Chennai unit is undergoing a $500-million upgrade as Ford seeks to make India a global production hub for its small cars.

"The Figo is designed to compete in India's small car segment, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the market," said Ford's global president and chief executive Alan Mulally, who unveiled the car at a function here.

We’re confident that the new Ford Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian car buyers,” said Mr Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India.

“It’s going to be very competitive with the current market leaders and offer a tremendous value story for our consumers. We believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume player in India.”

Latest News on Mail