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.