Ford India plans to launch five new passenger vehicles this year

Mumbai: Ford India plans to launch five new passenger vehicles this year, including two cars in completely new segments, say Ford India officials.

Of the new cars to be introduced, three are likely to be variants of the Ford Ikon, while two will be cars in totally different segments in which the company is not yet present in India, says Ford India vice-president (marketing, sales and service) Randy Shockley.

The new vehicles will be manufactured at Ford India’s plant near Chennai unlike the luxury sedan Mondeo, which is imported as a fully built-up unit (CBU) to India from its parent company, Ford Motor Company’s plant in Belgium, says Shockley.

Sources are speculating that Ford India may be considering the launch of the mid-size sedan Fusion, the sports-utility-vehicle Escape and the pick-up vehicle Ranger for the Indian market. The 1,300cc car would have features such as alloy wheels, rear spoiler, front fog lamps, leather and fabric synchro seats, power windows, power steering and electric boot release.

Ford India sold nearly a total of 15,000 cars in India last year. And the company has launched yet another version of the Ikon — this time a limited edition of the Ikon 1.3 CLXi NXT model called NXT 1.3 CLXi Finesse. The car is priced at Rs 5.89 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), at a premium of Rs 56,221 over the existing model.

The Ford NXT, the most recent launch of the company, has shown a good response from its buyers and the company has logged sales of 1,737. The NXT model is claimed to have 149 changes from its original version, the Ford Ikon. Its sporty exterior and styling, interior refinements and the introduction of the new 1.3 Rocam powertrain have brought about a good response.

Ford India is targeting an over 20-per cent market share during the year with the Ikon NXT. To meet the growing demand, Ford India has expanded its dealer network across India and now has 82 dealer outlets in 67 cities.

Some good news. Ford India the company has come out tops in the JD Power Asia Pacific 2002 India customer satisfaction index (CSI) at the entry mid-size segment for the second time in succession.