Ford India has made some major changes. The company reasons as follows, ‘These changes ensure that our production is in line with customer expectations and requirements’. The biggest changes are in regards to some engine lines being discontinued.
Ford Figo, Aspire and Freestyle will no longer be available with the 1.5l Ti-VCT petrol automatic (AT). Information regarding a new AT will be available at a future date. Strangely, Ford FreeStyle was never available in this configuration in India.
The now discontinued 1.5-litre, 3-cyl petrol engine returns 121 BHP at 6,500 rpm, and max torque of 150 Nm at 4,500 rpm mated to 6-speed AT. There is no word yet on the replacement petrol AT variant. Other changes to Ford Figo. Aspire and Freestyle line-up revolves around colour changes. Absolute Black is now discontinued. Deep Impact Blue is discontinued for Figo and Aspire range.
Ford EcoSport 1.0l EcoBoost petrol engine is now discontinued. The compact SUV continues to be powered with a 1.5l Ti-VCT petrol engine, and 1,5l TDCi diesel engine.
Updates pertaining to Ford Endeavour are limited to colour availability. Hereon, Smoke grey, Moondust silver, and Sunset Red colours are discontinued. The SUV continues to be available in Absolute Black, Diamond White, and Diffused Silver colour choices.
The above information has already been circulated at dealerships, and will reflect on the company website from January 15, 2020. Moving forward, orders for discontinued variants and colours will but obviously not be entertained.
In 2019, Ford India, as it stood, announced major changes to its future functionality here. The company now has an association with Mahindra. Both brands would co-develop vehicles. Further details regarding the association will hopefully be made available in quick time. Ford India currently enjoys about 2 percent market share here, and reported its lowest sales in a while last month. 3,021 units. Ford does however enjoy stronger performance where exports are concerned.
Ford Endeavour BSVI has been spied on test, and this could make way for a 2.0l engine in the Endy line-up.
Ford EcoSport, a vehicle that’s enjoyed unprecedented success in its segment, has over time been unable to keep up. As the segment swells, EcoSport sales have been lowest in the segment at 39,989 units sold through 2019. Maruti Brezza leads at 1,27,094 units. The fairly new Hyundai Venue has crossed the 70k mark in 8 short months.
