Ford Figos manufactured in India, would reach South African shores this year
Ford halted sales of the “Ka” in South Africa 18 months ago and since then the entry-level passenger car segment hasn’t seen a contestant from them. In the third quarter of this year, that sentence will not make sense as Ford is preparing to take on the budget car market segment once again with the introduction of the Indian-made Figo.
Ford sells the Bantam in SA which is the pickup truck based on the Ikon. The Indian connection hence is already present.
Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) president and CEO Jeffery Nemeth -
Having a new entry in the segment that is expected to recover the fastest will definitely provide us with some advantages.
The Figo uses the B-Platform and is manufactured with a localization content of 85% in Ford’s Chennai facility which can produce up to 200,000 cars a year. Both petrol and diesel variants could be marked for exports, but no official word from Ford has reached us.
Our regular reader Shaun Malambo, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, had a chance to experience the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze. As you know, IAB has been keenly following the Cruze making this our 27th post on the car.
The Cruze was launched in South Africa on the 24th of this month and due to personal reasons, Shaun could not attend the launch and cover it for us. As a result he had gone a Chevy dealership close to his house and came away impressed.
Shaun Malambo -
The Chevrolet Cruze was launched on the 24 September 2009 in South Africa and has visual appeal. I couldn’t attend the launch but went over to my local dealership to have a look at what all the buzz was about since I’m following Indian Autos blog and being a Chevrolet Aveo & Spark fan.
The car oozes sophistication and grandness which is quite uncommon for a ‘budget priced’ car. The Cruze is a compact and sleek car, it looks solid and the linear lines on the exterior makes the Cruze sexy without being over the top – it is indeed a thing of beauty in the eyes of the beholder. It is well built, of a high quality and in a league of its own. It can’t really be compared to any other luxury car I encountered. You need to see it to believe it!
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The Mahindra Xylo is slipping into an avatar of a distance load hauler for South Africa. The Xylo is among the chart busters in the Indian Automobile market this year and during its launch in January, Dr.Pawan Goenka, President of Mahindra’s Automotive Sector told us it will wear different costumes to take on many segments in the future. He also said they were looking at export markets and a petrol engine was taking shape for the same reason.
Utilization of the Xylo’s platform to make commercial vehicles is Mahindra’s next target. In the pipeline is a single cab pickup truck (which we’ve already shown you), a dual cab variant and this cargo van which has already been OK’d by the ARAI.
The Xylo cargo will have windows ‘blanked out’ to and no other alterations will arise to its exterior. The front seats will remain and the remaining will be vacated to open up a world of space.
Sold with a 15,000 km service interval and a three-year/100,000 km warranty, the A-Star has been introduced in South Africa as the Suzuki Alto.
Our friend Scott from SA Car Fan tells me the Alto was displayed at the Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS), held last year weeks after the car’s official debut at the Paris Motor Show. The Alto comes with the same 1,0-litre 3-cylinder 12-valve DOHC petrol engine which we Indians get, that produces 50 kW at 6,000 rpm and 87 N.m of torque at 4,500 rpm.
Entry level Alto GL
The entry level Alto GL offers driver and passenger front airbags; side-impact protection beams, ISOFIX child seat preparation; factory-fitted immobiliser; air-conditioning with pollen filter; tinted glass; halogen headlights and a full-sized 14-inch spare wheel as standard features.
Upmarket Alto GLS
The upmarket Alto GLS features 14-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, colour coded door handles and side mirrors, remote-controlled central locking, height adjustable steering wheel, electrically operated front windows and a 6-speaker AM/FM radio with single MP3 CD-player.
The Alto GLS also gets folding rear seats in a 50:50 split configuration. In terms of safety, you have everything you require – it is equipped with ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA) along with the safety equipment on the entry-level model.
Toyota Fortuner limited edition named ‘Epic’ was introduced in South Africa last month. The aesthetically different vehicle, has caught the SUV buyer’s attention for the bouquet of features it has in store. The same could happen after the vehicle is launched in India in the coming months.
The car has black shade on the tow bar, front grille rear bumper, front nudge bar and the new chrome plated ‘Fortuner Epic’ logo is easily visible.
We are not sure if Wentworth Miller of Prison Break fame is going to South Africa, but the Chevrolet Cruze already has!
Chevrolet’s world car, the Chevrolet Cruze has arrived in Port Elizabeth for final testing and validation before the South African launch later in 2009. A batch of cars with a lot of stickers and cladding was spotted unloading in the port.
The Chevrolet Cruze will be launched simultaneously in India, Australia, U.K and Malaysia by the end of this year. The Cruze has already been launched in Korea and China, where it has a dedicated production line.
Source- Motoring SA
We had carried an article earlier about Ford launching the facelifted Ikon and now we have fresh pictures of the car. The vehicle you see above is named Bantam, a pickup truck based on the Ikon which will not make it to India for obvious reasons. However, as the frontal dimensions are same, looking head on at the new Bantam is as good as looking at the refreshed Ford Ikon [ Read More ]
The McDonalds of cars, which after having exceeded everyone’s expectation in India, is gearing up to go overseas. Motoring.co.za reports that the Renault Logan will be introduced in South Africa, and all of them will be shipped from Mahindra’s plant in India! The car will be unveiled to the South African audience at the Johannesburg Auto Show in October and will reach showrooms in November. The website also reports that [ Read More ]
