Ford Figo to hit Indian roads by March

Ford Figo Chennai: Ford India is fully geared up to launch its small car Figo by March-end.

With the production of the small car beginning at the company's Maramalai Nagar facility, Ford will now be competing with seasoned players such as Hyundai (Santro, i10, i20) and Maruti (Swift, WagonR, AStar) in the small car segment.

Figo is the sixth new model that the carmaker has introduced to Indian customers following the parent company's $500 million investment in the sub-continent.

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Ford Figo will be available in two fuel variants, one with the 1.2 L Duratec petrol engine and another with 1.4 L Duratorq TDCi engine. Both the engines have been developed exclusively for Ford Figo.

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After the domestic launch, Ford Figo will also be exported to other countries in fully-built form.

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"Ford Figo will be priced competitively," says Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director, Ford India.

Localisation of auto components used in the small car, both diesel and petrol version, may enable the car manufacturer to price the vehicle between Rs 3-3.5 lakh, auto analysts feel.

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The chassis of the small car has been retuned for the Indian market with a more compliant suspension tailored for local road condition. The exterior and interior styling of the new Figo are fresh and include both interpretations of Ford's kinetic design philosophy.

"Ford plans to launch new car models in 12-15 months across various platforms," Boneham said.

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The car major is leveraging on the 'One Ford' plan where the car manufacturer utilises its global assets expertise to meet the demands of Indian customers.

Earlier, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, flagged off Figo from the newly-built state-of-the-art assembly line at the company's new facility. The Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin; Raj Nair, Vice-President (Operations), Asia-Pacific & Africa; and Sandip Sanyal, Executive Director (Operations), Ford India also took part in the meet.