The Hindu Business Line : Ford study for indigenisation of diesel engines

Ford India is carrying out a feasibility study on indigenisation of its Duratorq range of diesel engines. These engines currently figure in the mid-size sedan Ford Fiesta.

Mr Scott McCormack, Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Ford India, said: "We are looking at the possibility of developing the engines locally as 75 per cent of our Fiesta sales are governed by the diesel variant."

If the feasibility study is found viable, then the company would look at developing the engines at Hindustan Motors's Pithampur plant in Indore. The company has been manufacturing its current range of Rocam (Ikon) and Durateq (Fiesta) engines at the HM plant. Ford tied up with HM in 2002 to manufacture the Ikon range of petrol engines.

Duratorq Engines

Currently, it imports the Duratorq (Fiesta) diesel engines from Europe. The indigenisation programme is for the Fiesta and the upcoming Fusion diesel variant that is likely to be launched in 2007. Currently, the Fiesta has a local content of 65 per cent. The objective is to increase the local content to 90 per cent and bring down the overall cost of the vehicle considerably.

Ever since the petrol prices have flared up, more and more prospective customers are opting for diesel variants. The company has received positive response for the Fiesta diesel variant. In order to garner more sales, the company had recently introduced a base model (1.4 Exi) under the sub 7- lakh segment. The success lies in the cutting edge diesel engine technology (second-generation common rail direct injection) that is known for its performance and fuel efficiency.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors has decided to launch the CRDi technology in their mid-size sedan offering, the Tata Indigo. The company is about to introduce the new generation Dicor CRDi engine with the new face-lift Tata Indigo.

More Stories on : Outlook | Automobile Components | Cars

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page