For the month of Sep 2018, Ford India registered its lowest ever sales for the Figo hatchback. Only 5 units were sold by the company. This is lower than sales of Mustang, which registered 12 units sold. Overall, their domestic sales declined to 8,230 units. Their best selling car for the month was EcoSport at 3,789 units, followed by Freestyle at 2,302 units and Aspire at 1,640 units.
A few Ford India dealers we spoke to said that the company has stopped taking orders for the Figo. Some even said that the current Figo has been discontinued from the market as the company aims to focus on the Freestyle, which is nothing but a Figo with plastic cladding.
On top of all this, in its current form, the Figo is in fact costlier than the Aspire – the former is priced from Rs 5.61 lakhs while the latter is priced from Rs 5.55 lakhs. Usually it is seen that manufacturers price sedan higher than the hatchback variant in India. But that has not been the case with Figo and Aspire. Freestyle on the other hand, is priced from Rs 5.23 lakhs. Freestyle prices were recently hiked by up to Rs 19k.
The Figo we know in current form may have been discontinued, but there is a new Figo coming soon. At the launch of new Ford Aspire recently in Delhi, Ford India revealed that they will launch the new Figo in March 2019. New Ford Figo facelift will be seen with striking new exteriors with a honeycomb mesh grille as seen on the Aspire, larger 15” alloy wheels and new front fascia along with a redesigned rear bumper.
It will also get the same features as seen on the 2018 Aspire with rain sensing wipers, auto headlamps and interiors that boast of climate controls, 6.5” touchscreen infotainment system with SYNC-3, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It will receive a reverse camera and other safety features such as rear parking sensors, dual airbags, ABS, EBD and ISOFIX child seat mounts. Top of the line Titanium variant will get 6 airbags while if Ford includes an automatic variant, driver aids such as hill launch assist, electronic stability program and traction control system will also be included in the safety features.
Engine specifications on the Ford Figo facelift will include the same engine lineup as seen powering the Aspire. The 1.5 liter, 3 cylinder Dragon series petrol engines will offer 96 PS power and 120 Nm torque with manual 5 speed gearbox. There will also be a 1.5 liter petrol engine, generating 123 PS power and 150 Nm torque, but it will only be offered with 6 speed automatic transmission. The 1.5 liter diesel engine will produce 100 PS power and 215 Nm torque. It gets mated to a 5 speed AT.
Set to compete with Maruti Swift and Hyundai Grand i10, the Ford Figo facelift could come in at an introductory offer price less than the current price. Hence a price range from Rs 5.5 lakhs is what is expected at launch.
