Ford Freestyle was launched aiming to create a new CUV segment in India but has failed to gain traction against the Compact SUVs
Ford India, the American carmaker in India that made it big first with the Ikon sedan and then the EcoSport compact SUV has since then failed to capitalize the growing Indian economy and has mostly been limited to exports with domestic sales falling as low as a little over 5,000 units a month. Even the new brands like Kia Motors have outsold Ford in India.
The lone surviving American brand in India has some really nice products like Endeavour and Ecosport in its portfolio and tried creating a new segment called CUV (Compact Utility Vehicle) with the Figo based crossover called the Freestyle. However, Indians are still preferring the compact SUVs as evident with the sales of new launches like Hyundai Venue and the effect is visible on the Freestyle.
Ford sold only 647 units of Freestyle in August 2019 as compared to 2,564 units in the same month last year, recording a sales dip of massive 75 percent. However, as compared to the M-o-M sales, Freestyle recorded a growth of 18 percent, as 550 units were sold in July 2019.
In terms of overall sales, Ford sales dropped by 31.4% to just 5,517 units in August 2019 as compared to 8,042 units sold last year same month. On M-o-M basis, there’s a 12 percent decline as Ford sold 6,284 units in July 2019.
The Freestyle is powered by two set of engines including a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel, same as the Figo and shares most of its components with the Figo. Interestingly, the Ford Figo performed immensely well in August 2019.
The company’s most affordable offering in India registered a growth of 6,293 percent by selling 895 units as against 14 units last year. However, on a monthly basis, there was a 39 percent decline as Ford sold 1,466 units of Figo in July 2019.