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Ford eyes 30% share in mid-sized car segment

Our Bureau

CALCUTTA, June 23

Ford India Ltd hopes to sustain a 30 per cent share of the mid-sized luxury car market segment in India through aggressive marketing.

The company has targeted to sell 22,600 units of Ford Ikon this year. And, on this premise, it expects its turnover for this year to be around Rs. 1,350 crore.

Mr. John Fink, Vice-President (Marketing, sales & service), Ford India, told newspersons here today that the mid-sized luxury car market in India was estimated at around 80,000 units. Variants of Ford Ikon would account for 30 per cent of this segment on a sustained basis.

Mr. Fink was here on the occasion of the national launch of the Ford Ikon EXi, the latest member of the josh team. Delivery of the vehicle is slated to commence from the second week of July.

With a network of 38 dealers spread across 34 cities, a total of 10,600 Ford Ikons have been sold in the last six months. In Calcutta alone, over 100 Ford Ikon vehicles are sold every month. North and East India account for 45 per cent of Ford India's sa les, while the balance offtake is in the South and West. The company is planning to augment its dealership network.

According to Mr. Fink, Ford has invested Rs. 1,700 crores in manufacturing and support facilities in India. Its factory near Chennai is equipped to manufacture 50,000 cars per annum. This can be scaled up to 1 lakh cars with additional investment when re quired.

Ford India is negotiating with three neighbouring countries for the export of `built-up' variants of the Ford Ikon. Prospective dealers in these countries have taken a lot of interest in taking up dealerships of Ford Ikon. Decisions in this regard are li kely to be firmed up before the year-end. CKD kits will be exported from India to countries in South Africa and Latin America.

The 1300 cc, Euro II-compliant Ford Ikon EXi is equipped with luxury features such as power steering, power windows, body-side protection, central locking and CFC-free air-conditioning, among others, and is available in a range of seven colours. It has b een priced at Rs. 4,71,700 ex-factory. The retail price in Chennai works out to Rs. 553,452, while in Calcutta, it is a shade higher at Rs. 5,61,959.

With the launch of the Ford Ikon EXi, the Ford Ikon josh team now consists of CLXi (petrol), EXi (petrol), 1.6 Rally Sport, the 1.6ZXi (petrol) and the 1.8ZXi (diesel).

Pic.:Mr. John Fink, Vice-President (Marketing, sales & service), Ford India, standing against the new Ford Ikon EXi in Calcutta on Friday.