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Ford India today said that the company is working on bringing down the total cost of ownership of its cars, while significantly expanding its presence across the country through new dealerships and service network.
The global automotive major, which is set to significantly expand its capacity by commissioning its Greenfield manufacturing unit at Sanand in Gujarat later this year, expects India to become a major hub for small cars.
Tom S. Chackalackal, Executive Director, Manufacturing, Ford India, told Business Line that the expansion of dealerships, including into Tier II and III cities in the country, is to provide reach and enhanced ownership experience to customers. Apart from offering services at Rs 2,199, the cost of spares and small parts too has been brought down significantly.
“The year started off with the launch of new Endeavour, new Ford Figo and repositioned Ford Classic. We will shortly launch Ford Fiesta,” he said.
In its efforts to elevate the brand and ownership experience, Ford India augmented its sales and service network with the inauguration of four new facilities, three of Fortune Ford and one of Mody Ford, apart from upgradation of two sales and service facilities of Vibrant Ford in Hyderabad.
“Öne of the key priorities is to make the Ford brand even more accessible to new customers across India. With a growing footprint of 304 sales and service facilities in 164 cities, we are making it convenient for customers to experience and enjoy our brand,” he said.
The company is in the process of interacting with its suppliers to boost the output of the popular compact SUV Ecosport.
Ford India, which is investing close to about $2 billion in the country, including in the new plant at Sanand, currently has an installed capacity of 2,00,000 cars and 3,40,000 engines. This will go up to 4,40,000 cars and 6,10,000 engines with the addition of capacity for 2,40,000 cars and 2,70,000 engines.
“We believe that the country’s passenger car market will grow to about 7 million cars by 2020. Of this, 2 million will be from the B segment where Ford India will play a big role. The new capacity is expected to support both the domestic demand and other markets,” he said.
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