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Ford may report profit this fiscal

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, June 18

FORD India Ltd (FIL), the subsidiary of Ford Motor Company of the US, is expected to declare a cash profit during the current year.

The company, which is manufacturing passenger cars at its plant in Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai, is projecting a marginal profit from its operations for the first time since entry into the country in 1995.

Speaking to newspersons here, Mr. Phil Spender, Managing Director of FIL, said that the company will generate cash profits by the end of this year and the same would be achieved after sales for the year cross the 20,000 units mark.

Mr. Spender said that FIL is targeting domestic sales of 22,500 units during the current year. In addition to this, the company is expected to commence export of the Ford Ikon, the mid-size sedan Ford introduced exclusively for the Indian market late las t year.

The FIL Managing Director said that the exports of the Ikon will start in the fourth quarter of the current year and they would be in the form of completely knocked down kits. Exports would be to countries in South America and South Africa, Mr. Spender s aid.

He, however, could not give details regarding the number of cars that the company was hoping to export. ``The export programme will be carried forward and new markets for the export of the Ikon will be explored on a continuous basis,'' Mr. Spender added.

Talking about the auto industry's projected performance during the current financial year, Mr. Spender said that while the small car segment will slow down and growth in this segment will settle at more realistic levels, the mid-size (Ikon) segment will witness phenomenal growth and is likely to double in size.

He felt that the mid-size segment, both the entry level and the upper-end variants put together, will touch sales of 80,000 units during the current year. This is in comparison to sales of about 42,000 units during the previous year ended March 2000. Of this, FIL's market share is expected to be about 28 per cent.

FIL is also planning to introduce another variant of the Ikon by mid-July. The Ikon Exi will feature the 1.3 litre Rocam petrol engine. It will be offered as an entry-level luxury sedan with upper-end features such as power steering and power windows. Co mpany sources said that the new variant is likely to be priced at about Rs. 5.50 lakhs.