You won't see it anytime in American shores, but American automaker Ford will step up and ramp up its presence in the India, where it will build a dedicated plant worth $500 million for the Ford Figo in South India. The plant will also cater to markets in the Asia-Pacific and the African regions.
Despite the huge potential that the Indian car market holds for automakers, Ford seems to be unable to penetrate it, ranking only 7th in terms of car sales, way behind Japan's Suzuki, South Korea's Hyundai, and India's own Tata. Ford already has its own factory of cars in the country with a capacity of 200,000 units. However, the problem of Ford seems to lie on the mismatch of the cars that the plant produces.
Right now, most of the cars produced there are sedans like the Fiesta and expensive SUVs like the Endeavor. In truth, Indian consumers prefer to purchase small cars, which comprise about 70% of the market. That's the reason why Ford came out with the Ford Figo in the first place. It's the company's first serious attempt to enter the market, which might be crucial in Ford's plans if it wants to avoid bankruptcy. The Indian car market might just offset the dips in American and European sales that Ford has been experiencing.
The Ford Figo will most likely come out in 2010 according to Ford officials, though no details like specs and prices have been released yet.
As for GM, another major American carmaker, it currently has plans to introduce a small car in the Delhi Auto Show this January. Like Ford, it has been rather unsuccessful in entering the market.
Right now, we can see the American carmakers that have originally relied mostly on the American market are now starting to shift their focus to the more promising markets abroad. We'll see in a while if this pays off for the bruised carmakers.
'Ford enters Indian small-car market with Figo'
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