Ford India recently reinforced their decision for investing $1bn to build an integrated manufacturing plant in Gujarat, and their decision seems to have been well thought as the recent sales figures of the company point out their demand in the Indian auto market.
Ford India managed to sell a total of 71,347 export and wholesale vehicles in the period of Jan to July, in comparison to the 49,131 vehicles they sold in the corresponding period in 2010, an increase of 45%. Last month, the company witnessed combined exports and wholesales of 10,706 vehicles, in comparison to 9,666 vehicles in the same month last year.
Following their aggressive global expansion strategy, the Gujarat state and Ford India signed an MoU on July 28 in Gandhinagar, for building a modern vehicle manufacturing facility and engine facility on a plot spread over 460 acres in Sanand.
The company’s MD and president, Michael Boneham, said that these times are quite exciting for them in India. They are investing for the future as well as reinforcing their long term commitment in India by opening two new facilities in Gujarat, as well as adding the new Fiesta to their portfolio. The new Fiesta will be the first among their 8 new vehicles that they have planned to bring to this market by 2015.
Diesel powered fuel efficient variants by Ford have been receiving a lot of demand, because of increasing cost of fuel that has led to a waiting list for customers. Ford is also expanding their engine facility in Chennai, as well as working with suppliers of diesel engine parts for better meeting the increased demand.
Boneham further added that they appreciate the patience of their customers as they work with their suppliers for removing the constraints in capacity and ensure that they can meet with increasing demand for their products. The new Fiesta was great to add to their portfolio, having managed to achieve a great reaction from their customers. They are also pleased at having sold more than 70,000 vehicles to international and local markets in the current year.
The new Fiesta that hit markets on July 14 brought a lot of category leading technologies with it, like the in car; voice controlled climate and entertainment system as well as cruise control all in fuel efficient and stylish features.
Followed by an increasing demand for their Ford Figo compact car, the company exported to around 26 markets above 3,200 cars, which includes seven new models in July. Boneham concluded that it was great to know that apart from selling more than 1,00,000 models in India, the demand for the Figo in overseas markets have also been high, consistently increasing their exports.