In a sign of its commitment to India, Ford Motor Company flew down its president and CEO Alan Mulally to the country to unveil the company’s new Figo model in New Delhi on September 23.

This compact hatchback will go on sale from March 2010 and has been designed specially for India. It will be made at Ford’s manufacturing plant near Chennai. Engine options would include a new 1.2-litre petrol unit, as well as the existing 1.4-litre Duratorq 68bhp engine. The Figo is the most important model for Ford in India aimed squarely at the heart of India’s small car market. It is the main reason why Ford has invested US$ 500 million at its Maraimalainagar plant to double its capacity to 200,000 units per annum and introduce major advances in automation and innovative, eco-friendly production techniques.

It’s clear that Ford wants to leap into the big league alongside Maruti, Hyundai and Tata but for a company that’s been on the sidelines of our growing market for the better part of a decade, it won’t be easy. “Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India,” Mulally said. “It reflects our commitment to compete with great products in all segments of this car market."

No one is more aware of this challenge than Ford India, which is why the company is throwing everything behind its new hatchback. “We believe the Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford in India that will help transform our brand into a volume player,” said a confident Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India.

The Figo — an all-new nameplate, which in colloquial Italian means ‘cool’ — actually looks stylish. It is essentially a re-skinned version of the previous-generation European Fiesta hatch on which the Indian Fiesta saloon is also based. Like the Ikon and Fiesta, the Figo was designed and engineered by Ford Australia and is also unique to the Indian market.

At the unveiling the interiors were blacked out because they are not yet complete. The Figo will get a completely fresh interior package which means a brand new instrument panel, seats and trim. They are expected to set new standards for small hatchbacks combining class-leading aesthetics and functionality.

Ford says its Chennai plant is now the company’s regional centre of excellence for small-car engineering and production. The Figo will be made here for export and it will also produce diesel and petrol engines.