Ford India recently emphasised that it will not develop India-specific cars from now and all of its upcoming vehicles will be international models that would be modified to adapt to Indian conditions. Nigel E. Wark, Director of Marketing and Sales Service, Ford India, had previously commented that the manufacturer had produced cars solely for India till now but will not follow the approach any more.
Wark commented that models produced on international platforms allow the manufacturer to bring the same car or its variants to several markets, while giving more options to buyers themselves. Models can easily be made suitable for conditions in any country through customisation.
The development cost of country-specific models is also quite high, with Toyota Motors spending approximately Rs. 3200 crores on its Etios. The company had developed it especially for the local market and launched it successfully by the end of 2010. It is expected to reach foreign markets by March 2012.
Earlier, Ford India had announced that it will launch a total of 8 new cars in India in the coming 5 years, a far cry from the 5 models it had rolled out in the past 15 years. It is not clear which segment the American car maker will target with the new cars. Currently, it has no vehicle in India's small car segment, which accounts for the highest sales figures in the country. Wark had said that the company rolls out close to 40 per cent of its cars in tier 2 and tier 3 areas.
Presently, Ford is looking forward to establishing its second facility in Gujarat as well as ramping up the engine manufacturing unit at its Chennai unit. The engine plant will be a part of the car maker's plants to invest $ 1 billion in the domestic market, bringing its total investments in the local market to $ 2 million.
