HomeCar NewsFord EcoSport waiting period might increase: No news on price cut

Ford EcoSport waiting period might increase: No news on price cut

Ford EcoSport SUV is produced from the Ford India plant in Chennai, which caters to both domestic and export markets. The plant operates in two shifts and following increased demand and longer waiting period, the company is contemplating adding a third shift, though at the same time the company is facing severe supply constraints, reveals Autocar Professional.

Ford EcoSport waiting period might increase No news on price cutFord is ready to start the third shift, but they are waiting for materials, which includes trim and metal parts. Without these materials, they cannot start the third shift. As of now, they are running two shifts, each producing about 350 units of EcoSport each.

Speaking on the same, Ford stated, “While we did anticipate that the Ford EcoSport would generate great demand, it is gratifying to see an overwhelming response and continued strong demand of our compact urban SUV. As we are witnessing an extended waiting period on certain variants, mostly petrol, we have temporarily stopped taking bookings on those specific variants.”

Apart from this, the recent news of reduction in excise duty is yet to have an effect on the price of EcoSport, as rivals have already announced price cuts. For eg, Mahindra XUV500 price has been slashed by up to Rs 42,000. Being under 4 meter, the excise duty for EcoSport has now been slashed from existing 12% to 8% under the interim budget. This translates into a price reduction of up to Rs 30,000. But it is not certain whether this will be passed on to the end customers as the reduce excise duty is only valid till 20th June 2014.

If the government continues with the reduced excise duty after 20th June 2014, then there is a strong chance that Ford will reduce the price of EcoSport. But that will only be possible when they start taking bookings of the EcoSport, as currently they have stopped taking orders for some of the variants. Ford collected over 60,000 orders for the EcoSport in India.

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