Ford India today announced welcoming its one-millionth Indian customer. The car in question here is, the 2018 Ford Freestyle crossover and the model was the Titanium Petrol variant. The owner of the one-millionth Ford car was handed the key to his brand new Freestyle by Anurag Mehrotra - Managing Director, Ford India. The Ford Freestyle is the newest addition to the company's line-up and was launched in India early this year in April, at a starting price of Rs. 5.09 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Commenting on the delivering the one-millionth car, Anurag Mehotra said, " It's such a privilege to get a chance to serve over a million customers. Everyone, from the dealers, employees, present and past, I think each, and everyone one of them have contributed, for making sure that we got to this milestone. There is a certain amount of energy now, from the last two years from whatever we have been executing, but first things first, absolute privilege and honour to get to serve over a million customers."
Ford has had a long history with the Indian markets, which first commenced in 1926 as a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, and it lasted till 1954, during which the company dealt in imports. The American carmaker later re-entered the Indian market in 1995 as part of a 50-50 joint venture with Mahindra, before finally establishing itself as Ford India Private Limited, in 1998.
Ford Ikon was the ground-breaking model for the company in India
Since 1998, Ford India has invested more than $ 2 billion (Rs. 13,675 crore) in India. The company claims that the early years went in understanding the Indian market and acquainting the Indian customer to the Ford DNA. During that period, the carmaker launched several products in India including the - Escort, Mondeo, and the very popular Ford Ikon. While the former two couldn't survive for long, due to the heavy price tag and competition from the Japanese brands, the Ikon turned out to be the ground-breaking model for the company. The Ikon family later saw the addition of the Ford Classic and Ford Fiesta, both of which saw equal success in India.
Post 2010 Ford launched models like the Figo hatchback and the EcoSport subcompact SUV
2010 onwards, Ford India started strengthening its portfolio with new improved products and during the early period of this decade, we saw the launch of the Figo hatchback, followed by the EcoSport subcompact SUV. India has seen two generations of the Ford Figo, and the second-gen model, which also underpins the Freestyle, is now set to receive its first mid-cycle facelift. The EcoSport, on the other hand, has only received few updates and a couple of facelifts in so far, despite which the SUV continues to remain one of the top-selling models in the company's line-up. Ford even launched its iconic pony car Mustang in India, in 2016.
Ford EcoSport accounts for almost 400,000 units out of the one million Ford cars sold in India
Ford has also introduced its new 3-cylinder dragon petrol engines in India, which are manufactured locally, shifting its focus to a lot of local content. Currently, the company offers a 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre petrol units that power the Freestyle and EcoSport respectively. Out of the one million cars sold in India, the Ford Figo (old+new) accounts for about 250,000 sales units, the EcoSport accounts for about 400,000 units, and the about 150,000 units from the Ikon and Fiesta. The remaining models like the Ford Fusion, Escort, Endeavour, and others make up for the rest of the Ford cars sold in India.
Ford even launched its iconic pony car Mustang in India, in 2016
Also Read: Ford And Mahindra Confirm Jointly Developed SUVs, Electric Car For India
Ford has come a long way since then and is now looking at electric cars for the country too. Early this year, the company announced entering a new joint venture with Mahindra and have signed an MOU to develop a new midsized and compact SUV and a new electric vehicle for the Indian market. The new SUVs will wear a Ford body and of course will be badged Ford but will be based on a platform that will be made by Mahindra.
