First Ford Figo rolls off Chennai assembly plant

Chennai:  Ford India today said that the first production model of its new sub-B segment compact car, the four-door hatchback, Figo rolled off the company's new assembly plant in Chennai.

Figo is the sixth new Ford model introduced in the rapidly frowing Indian market.The sub-B segment where Figo will be competing comprises more than 70 per cent of India's total new car sales.

In September 2009, Ford Motor's president and CEO, Alan Mulally, had announced plans to introduce the new Figo in India (See: Ford's global CEO unveils Ford Figo in Delhi)

The new Figo, colloquial Italian for ''cool,'' and a major addition to the Ford India brand portfolio, is being manufactured at Ford's expanded integrated manufacturing facility near Chennai, which has undergone a $500-million makeover to become a regional export hub for, what the company calls "eco-friendly volume production".

Ford India also inauguirated its new engine facility that will exclusively manufacture the 1.2-litre petrol engine for Figo. Later, Ford it proposes to make four cylinder engines in varying displacements up to 1.6 litres.

The new, 40,000 square metre flexible engine line, also part of Ford's nearly $500 million over the past two years, will build both diesel and petrol engines side-by-side for the new model.

While Figo will be manufactured primarily for Indian consumers initially, the new model will also be exported to other countries including South Africa, by mid 2010.