The launch of Figo by Ford has nothing to do with the intensive launches of small cars. The company proposes to introduce compact cars in a phase of every 12-18 months till 2015, to become a prominent volume player in the small car segment, said its President and MD for India. Ford realizes that 80% of the car segment is constituted by small cars in India and Ford could not afford to slip its identity in this sector, he said.
As a result, Figo would compete with Maruti, Hyundai and Tata in this segment with an anticipated 1-% growth would be good for the small car market. He said that Figo is certain to appeal the customers with its interior space, technology, safety and entertainment. The car will have 1.9lit petrol engine and a 1.4lit diesel engine in a row of four variants. The sale volume of sub-B was 950000 units at the growth of 18% in the last year which is expected to reach the million mark this year. Ford likes to share a reasonable amount in this year’s volume, with Figo offering the not-seen before features in this segment.
Figo was started on trial production in September last and test drive has already started and the formal launch may be in March this year. This premium hatchback segment is to have more funs from VW(Polo) and Nissan. Only thing that would be a bone of contention with Figo would be its cost and the PMD is confident that it will fit the class for its brand. The engine facility of the company started production and the target is 2.5 lakhs per year. The export market is to be identified for engines probably ASEAN regions. Figo too would be exported once it is fully established in India, he said.