New Delhi, March 15, 2013: Ford India is going all out to promote its upcoming EcoSport compact SUV by displaying the final production-ready version of the vehicle at select locations.

As part of its 12-city EcoSport Urban Discoveries campaign, the manufacturer opened its first EcoSport Urban hub at Select Citywalk mall at Saket in New Delhi today. There was a simultaneous opening of another ‘hub’ at Infinity Mall in Mumbai. New hubs will be opened in Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Ludhiana, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata in a phased manner.

This marketing initiative is aimed at giving customers an opportunity to drive the EcoSport and create a buzz among potential clientele. While a launch date for the SUV has not been announced yet, the company has confirmed that it will commence bookings once the customer experience drive is completed in May 2013 with first deliveries to commence in early June.

The promotional campaign for the EcoSport will include an experimental drive (starting May 2013) that will rope in 100 consumers, who will be selected by a jury after their registration and content upload on the Ford EcoSport website: www.ecosportdiscoveries.co.in

Besides, buyers in the above-mentioned 12 cities will have the opportunity to see, touch and feel the compact SUV every weekend, prior to its launch, once all the hubs are opened.

Every Urban Hub also includes an educational 3D EcoBoost engine holocube, which is a revolving and projected display of the engine’s construction to familiarise visitors with the engine technology employed in the SUV. Furthermore, a sync simulator in the form of a driving game and music selector will acquaint users with a voice-enabled interactive feature inside the EcoSport.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Joginder Singh, president and managing director of Ford India (pictured), said that the EcoSport will be available in four trim levels with three engine options. They comprise the 1.5-litre diesel and petrol engines from the current Fiesta saloon and Ford’s much-acclaimed 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbocharged 123bhp petrol engine, which will make its India debut in the car. All three engines will come mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, while the 1.5-litre petrol will also get an automatic gearbox option. The EcoSport, which is expected to have at least 85 percent of local content when launched, will roll out from Ford India’s Chennai plant. Export to international markets is also part of the overall made-in-India EcoSport gameplan.

SHOBHA MATHUR