Ford India has begun exports of its ultra-successful small car Figo by shipping out the first lot of 1,200 Made-In-India Figos to South Africa. The Figo is the first small car to be produced and exported by Ford India.
Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director, Ford India -
In addition to being a sales chart topper, the Ford Figo is the first small car to be produced and exported by Ford India and today's consignment of 1,200 Figos to South Africa is a new exciting development for us. Given the rising demand worldwide for compact vehicles, we plan to accelerate our export strategy to not only enhance our business growth but also to further embellish India's reputation as a major regional auto manufacturing hub
Ford will be exporting the 1.4-litre Duratec petrol and 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel engined Ford Figos to Ford Motor Company of South Africa, which will start deliveries of the cars in mid-July through its network of 123 dealerships.
Boneham added -
Just as the Figo has taken the Indian market by storm, we are confident that it will have a similar impact in South Africa and we hope to export 5,000 vehicles to the country by the end of the year
The Figo has been a huge success for Ford in India, with the car having received more than 24,000 bookings. The car has set Ford India's sales charts on fire with the company reporting a 267 % jump in sales for the month of June 2009.
Ford also exports its Made-In-India Fiesta sedan and diesel engines to Ford South Africa and this latest consignment of 1,200 Ford Figos should go a long a way in bolstering the export relationship between Ford India and Ford South Africa.
