Ford India’s MD Anurag Mehrotra said that Tier 3 and rural areas contribute to one-third of the company’s total sales currently
During the interaction with Ford India Managing Director, Anurag Mehrotra, on the occasion of the 1 millionth car delivery locally, he explained the rapid progression of the brand and said the growth curve is strong in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 provinces compared to Tier 1. He stated that one-third of total sales for Ford in India comes from Tier 3 and rural areas.
Last month, Ford India Private Limited registered domestic sales of 8,444 units at a 37 percent YoY increase, as 2,295 more examples were retailed when compared to July 2017. The American auto major returned to India under a 50:50 joint venture with Mahindra in the ’90s, before taking up the charge to become a wholly owned subsidiary of parent Ford Motor Company.
Ford has its headquarters at Maraimalai Nagar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and since its entry in October 1995, it has a consistent presence in the Indian market that resulted in one million cars being sold across the lengths and breadths of the nation. Ford’s domestic sales are driven by two main vehicles: one is the highly popular EcoSport and the other is the recently launched Freestyle.
Ford’s positive sales curve last month can also be due to the good numbers Freestyle has received as 2,554 deliveries were made. The CUV arrived at the showrooms with a brand new 1.2-litre petrol engine and it will power the forthcoming Ford vehicles such as the facelifted Figo and Aspire. Anurag Mehrotra said that 60 to 70 percent of Freestyle’s demand is for the new petrol engine and it has been greeted with good response among customers.
Over to the EcoSport, which averages around 5,000 units monthly since the facelift was introduced last November, 70 percent of customers are opting for the petrol version and the remaining 30 percent elects to buy the diesel variants according to the company’s Managing Director.
Ford launched a new 1.5-litre Dragon petrol engine on the facelifted EcoSport. It produces 121 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 150 Nm at 4,500 rpm, making it the most powerful in its segment.