Indian Autos blog

Ford’s commitment to the Indian market was further bolstered yesterday when the American automaker laid the foundation stone for its new US$1 billion manufacturing facility in Sanand. High Points: A huge base of 460 acre The plant will churn out 240,000 new Ford vehicles and 270,000 engines per year It will create 5,000 direct employment jobs and thousands of additional indirect jobs 19 supplier plants in and around the main  [ Read More ]

Ford launched the new Fiesta with a segment-first dual-clutch automatic transmission called PowerShift which comes to India through the “One Ford” strategy. This means that the technology of the AT gearbox is identical to the ones sold in the bigger markets such as US or UK. Ford India has not indulged in any cost cutting measures when working on the AT box for Fiesta.

The Ford Fiesta PowerShift Automatic features a double-clutch transmission which provides the ease of a conventional autobox while delivering class leading fuel economy of 16.97 Km/l.It is a completely sealed gearbox with 6 forward gears controlled by two dry clutches leading to less friction and faster gearshifts. There are no badges on the car claiming that it’s an automatic, which was, unexpected as the we expected “AT” or “Powershift” to find a place on the boot lid.

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Ford India’s success story – the Figo may have won the hearts of many Indian families. However, it was last of its breed as Ford India has made it particularly clear that it will not make any India-specific models in the future.

All the remaining six models that will enter in Indian market till 2015 will be global platforms heavily localized for India.

Let me explain – there are two ways of making cars – specific cars for specific markets and global cars customized for specific markets. Former allows brilliant flexibility but requires huge investment.

What’s a local car?

The Toyota Etios which was designed specifically for India required an investment of around 3,200 crores. Similarly the Eon took engineers four years and 900 crores to roll out. These are cars tailored to meet specific needs of a market. The Renault Logan (Mahindra Verito), Swift Dzire, Kia Ray and JDM cars like the Suzuki Solio are fine examples.

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The inauguration of 45 sales and service outlets in one day was not a coincidental event for Ford India. It is a deliberate ploy to get the media and the market buzzing. The company is preparing to unload seven more products by mid-decade and dealer expansion is oxygen for these launches. Indian Autos Blog readers are informed about some of these vehicles, the next gen Endeavour, B-Max L, Focus sedan and a sub-Fiesta hatch are part of the crop.

This is the second time Ford India has adopted this rush-of-blood retail strategy since it showcased the Figo back in late 2009.

We caught up with a passionate Indian Autos Blog reader Mr Ravindranathan.S, who is the Dealer Principal of MPL Ford Chennai, soon after they bolstered their infrastructure with the inauguration of a new 3S and Service facility this morning. This is what an emotional Mr Ravi told us over the phone

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Ford has just notified IAB of a New Delhi press conference to be held on the 4th of January, 2012 to announce a development it isn’t willing to dwell on as yet. We all know about the 2012 EcoSport powered by the new EcoBoost engine. We even caught the product page under construction on Ford India’s website last week.

Is Ford going to display the EcoSport on the eve of the 2012 Auto Expo to prepare customers for the mini SUV segment? Its last two launches – Figo and global Fiesta – have been shown months ahead of the price announcement. The Figo was unveiled by Ford CEO Alan Mullaly in New Delhi in September 2009 and the Fiesta was previewed and displayed at the Fiesta Cafe in Delhi in April almost three months prior to the market launch.

We could witness a similar launch program for the EcoSport and many other vehicles Ford’s lined up till the mid-decade. The showcasing of a product helps Ford pickup on customer feedback and thoughts to make last minute adjustments to the product. It is able to generate a giant database of potential customers who are then sent notifications and promotional material. This prompts buyers to postpone their purchase and drives up the anticipation.

If you have been tracking our updates you’d know by now that construction of the new Ford plant is on at Sanand, Gujarat, literally a stone throw away from the manufacturing plant of the Tata Nano.

IndianAutosBlog.com was among a handful of people invited to witness this event which was conducted in a traditional manner. Ford India’s MD Michael Boneham and his team tilled the soil to signify that construction of the plant is underway.

It marks Ford India’s entry into the second phase and they need the gods to shower them with blessings if they are to catch up with Hyundai and Tata Motors.

Here are some of the facts we were provided with at the press conference

• Ford chose Gujarat because it liked the state’s transparency in corporate dealing. Ford says positioning the plant closer to North India, where it registers huge numbers, gives it a strategic advantage in logistics. The Mundra port, the diagonally opposite position of Gujarat from Chennai are other important reason for this billion dollar investment.
• Like Sanand, Ford is constructing seven manufacturing plants around the world. Construction is underway in Thailand and China, while the other five are farther away from India.
• Many of the cars to be built in this plant are going to be where 70% of the market is – 3.5-6 lakh rupees.
• Engine manufacturing begins in late 2013 while cars roll out from early 2014.
• Ford India says engines made at this facility will meet demands from an export perspective. An EcoBoost engine is a definite candidate.
• By 2020, Ford expects India to be only behind America and China in the list of world’s largest markets as many families will break the threshold of car ownership.
• Ford is investing 4,000 crore in this facility.
• Engines as well as cars will be marked for exports. Vehicles are expected to be more or less 80% localized
• Ford’s main markets for its Sanand-made cars (outside of India) will be Mexico, South Africa, North Africa and the Middle Eastern countries.
• This plant can manufacture 240,000 cars annually but Ford says it will take a while for it to utilize complete capacity. Ford is not willing to share the exact numbers, but says more than 50% of the cars produced will be for domestic consumption.

On this special Monday morning, Ford India is going to open a new chapter in its India story. Ford has just finished the ground breaking ceremony of its second plant in India in Sanand, Gujarat. The construction of the new plant will commence shortly and the plant will be fully operational by 2014. The manufacturing plant will be built on 460 acres and the site is adjacent to Tata’s Nano  [ Read More ]

Ford India has sent us a press release announcing its foray into Gujarat for a second manufacturing plant. It will be a 4,000 crore rupee investment with the first vehicle and engine scheduled to come off the line in 2014. All the details are packed into a comprehensive press release attested to this blog post.

This begs the question – Could the next generation Ford Ka roll out of this plant in 2014 sporting a Made In India 1L 3cyl Ecoboost engine?

Press Release

Ford Says “Namaste Gujarat!” Announces Manufacturing and Engine Plant in India

· Ford India signs MoU with the State of Gujarat to build assembly and engine plant in Sanand

· Ford will invest4,000 crore (approximately US$1 billion) and create 5,000 jobs on a 460-acre site

· The state government has prioritised land adjacent to the site for supplier operations

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