Ford EcoSport, the 80 Per Cent Indian!
Ford EcoSport has been making headlines one after the other ever since it was showcased at this year's Auto Expo held in Delhi. It is back in the news again for two specific reasons, first that the compact SUV has made its first ever debut in Brazil on 14th of July, secondly due to the announcement made by Ford that 80 per cent of its material will be sourced from India. And it will be delivered to world markets from India itself.
In a statement, Ford India President and MD, Michael Boneham said, "It will be our second Global SUV Ecosport (to be rolled out from India). It will have around similar localisation levels of Figo and Classic...,". "We are still negotiating to have 80 per cent localisation for Ecosport," he added.
The other two products of the company Figo and the Classic variants too have been reported to have 80 per cent local content. Recently, Ford has planted its second facility at Sanand in Gujarat, it already has a manufacturing unit at Maraimalai Nagar, so if we put all things together, it shows the company's sincerity towards its commitment to bring in eight new products by 2015.
While addressing the press on Ford's achievement of expanding its engine plant capacity by 36 percent, he said, "We will launch Ecosport with an Ecoboost engine that will take it to the whole new level of standards...", he further added,"Already Ecosport has got tremendous reaction from the social networking sites," which shows the company's confidence on the compact SUV. He also shared the company's plan of launching the facelift version of their good-going hatchback, However he hasn't shared the launch plans of the new Figo, our sources suggest it to be launched during Diwali.
Check this space for more updates on the same.