Ford EcoSport faces further delays

Ford India’s compact SUV, the EcoSport, appears headed for a longer waiting period – it is about eight months now – as the company comes to grip with some apparent supplier glitches.

At the launch of the Ford Figo compact saloon concept in Delhi yesterday, Nigel Harris, who has just taken over as head of Ford India, indicated that the company has not yet been able to kick off a third shift at the Chennai plant as some materials are not available. He said: “We are looking at different ways to increase production. We are capable of starting the third shift but we need the material for it. Once we understand what material we have got, then we can meet the demand. I can’t be more specific than that.”

Autocar Professional has now learnt that without these material supplies that include trim and metal parts, among other parts, Ford India is finding it difficult to run a second shift, let alone a third. Approximately, 350 EcoSports are made in one shift.

When contacted, a Ford India spokesperson said: “We will continue to evaluate any bottlenecks and are working with our suppliers towards overcoming any constraints.”

The EcoSport, which was launched in June 2013, got off to a splendid start with over 4,000 units in the first month and rose to 6,000 units a few months later. Since then, sales have fallen. It is likely that the EcoSport sold around 3,500 units in January 2014 of Ford India’s total sales tally of 6,706 units.

It is understood that dealers are not taking bookings for the automatic version as well as some Titanium petrol and diesel variants. With 60,000 bookings for the EcoSport, Ford India will be pulling out all stops to ensure that it can ramp up output to meet buyer demand.

Last week, Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) began manufacture of the EcoSport at its plant in Rayong, becoming the fourth plant globally to build the SUV, joining Ford facilities in Chennai, Chonqing (China) and Camcari (Brazil).

Also read : http://www.autocarpro.in/ap/features/4899/ford-begins-ecosport-production-thailand-plant