Product termed as "interesting" by Ford India.
Speaking to Indian Autos Blog at the new Ford Endeavour's launch in Mumbai last week, Ford India's president and managing director, Mr. Nigel Harris, said that an idea of a Ford Figo Cross was "interesting", and something the company was "looking at".
Our artist, Shoeb Kalania, has created a digital mockup of a Ford Figo Cross, basing the rendering on the 2015 Figo hatchback which was launched in India in September 2015. The Figo Cross wears dual-tone bumpers with a black, plastic cladding, a skid plate, cladding for the side and wheel arches, a black molding for the headlight clusters, dull-finished alloy wheels, roof rails, and a trademark Raptor-style grille.
If such a product is indeed on the anvil, engines and components will be shared with the regular Figo hatchback. A 1.2-liter Ti-VCT petrol, a 1.5-liter Ti-VCT petrol paired to a 6-speed Powershift dual-clutch transmission, and a 1.5-liter TDCi diesel engine power the small car.
Also read: New Ford Endeavour vs rivals - Comparo
It will lock horns with the Toyota Etios Cross, VW Cross Polo and Hyundai i20 Active, adding incremental sales for Ford India. The crossover models mentioned contribute up to 20 percent sales of the vehicles they're based on (Toyota Etios Liva, VW Polo and Hyundai Elite i20 respectively). The incremental sales combined with the low R&D costs of developing a 'cross' variant, not to mention the export potential, could make a good business case for Ford India.
