Ford India to soon start exporting upgraded EcoSport to Europe

Ford India, which showcased an upgraded version of its compact sports utility vehicle EcoSport at Geneva Motor Show 2015, is all set to export these cars to Europe, bookings for which have already commenced.

The significantly enhanced EcoSport 2016 for the European markets comes without the tailgate-mounted spare wheel.

The 1.5-litre diesel engine gets a 5 PS hike while the 1.0-litre EcoBoost and 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol engines continue with same output figures. The engines, however, sands upgraded to Euro 6 emission norms.

Ford has also reduced ride height by 10 mm for Europe in addition to tweaking suspension and steering systems.

For the new European EcoSport, customers can specify if they want their cars without tailgate-mounted spare wheel. In that case, the mini SUV will feature a reprofitted tailgate with license plate enclosure getting a new location.

Ford has also modified the steering wheel, relocated handbrake lever, provided additional chrome finishing and partial leather seats (in Titanium variant), winter pack with heated windshield, steering wheel and seats, tweaked suspension, ESP and steering wheel for better dynamics, and a new EcoSport badge at the rear.

Deliveries are slated to commence shortly. The compact crossover will be shipped to Europe from Ford India's plant near Chennai.

However, the facelift cost Ford India some market as it had to temporarily halt production of export-spec model (to upgrade to facelifted version). This resulted in Ford India's sales (domestic + exports) declining sharply in June.

Sales declined by 33 per cent with total sales of only 7,979 units during the month.