Ford EcoSport is made for India: not to do well in Europe

On the sidelines of ongoing Geneva Show, Ford Europe’s Executive Design Director, Martin Smith told AutoNews that EcoSport is not expected to do well in Europe, where it will be launched later this year.

Ford EcoSport made its global debut at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. The SUV has been designed under the new Global Design Philosophy, but it has been tailored to suit the need of emerging markets like India, and not Europe. For eg, European buyers would not find the need of a spare tyre, which is fasted onto the rear of the EcoSport, but in countries of Brazil and India, where bad roads are in abundance, the spare tyre will come handy more often than you think. And, even if you removed the spare wheel, the fastenings will remain visible.

Plus, Ford Europe is going to import the EcoSport from Ford India. So why is Ford launching a car in Europe, which is not made for Europe? The answer is very simple. It is the sudden surge in demand for compact SUV’s and Ford, in no way wants to miss the gold rush, even if it left behind by competitors. IHS Automotive expects EcoSport to generate 36,000 sales in 2015, which is far less than what is expected from the competition.

As of now, Ford EcoSport has only one competitor in the form of Nissan Juke. But come 2015, EcoSport will have two more, Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008. IHS expects, 93,000 units and 100,000 units respectively to be sold in Europe in 2015.