Ford jumps into the small car race

“Our new model will be a worthy competitor to other cars in the segment and we will begin production with at least 90 percent local content to ensure that it is priced competitively,” said Arvind Mathew, president and managing director of Ford India.

By Autocar Pro News Desk

18 Feb 2008

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Details of the car are not known but according to industry sources, Ford’s new small car (code: B256) will be based on the Mazda B2 which has spawned cars like the Demio. Currently, a heavily disguised Fiesta is undergoing trials in India but we suspect that the Fiesta is essentially a mule to test the mechanicals of the new car. Ford’s new small car is likely to be a Getz/Swift competitor and could be priced as aggressively as Rs 4 lakh and is likely to come with a choice of petrol and diesel engines.

Ford has invested US$ 500 million for its new programme and a substantial chunk of that will go into building an engine plant with a capacity of 250,000 engines per annum.

Car production capacity is also expected to double from 100,000 to 200,000 by 2010. Ford has finally realised that to be a serious player in India it needs a car that is attractively priced to generate big volumes.