Ford expects better sales of upgraded EcoSport

Riding on the back of a healthy growth expected in the segment, Ford India is expecting to log in more sales of the upgraded EcoSport which is priced between Rs 7.31 lakh and Rs 10.99 lakh (prices ex-showroom Delhi).

The new version of the EcoSport is available in both petrol and diesel engine options.

"We are expecting to do better than what we are doing right now. Today, we sell around 4000-4,500 units per month of existing EcoSport and we intend to do better than that,"

Satish Varma, Ford India's Finance Controller, Marketing, Sales and Service, said speaking on the sidelines of launching the upgraded EcoSport here today.

Varma said EcoSport is already hugely popular in the compact SUV segment.

"That segment is the one where we find the most growth coming in the next five years. So, that's where we plan to play around.

"What we expect is that the segment also to grow and it is going to be much wider. On one side you have (Hyundai) Creta and Renault Captur....and then you have Ford (EcoSport) and then you have (Maruti) Brezza and then the Tata Nexon and in between there is (Honda) WRV," he said pointing out how top car manufacturers are aggressively targeting the segment.

Replying to a question, Varma said EcoSport commands close to 20 per cent plus market share in the compact SUV segment.

"The compact SUV as an industry is like 16 per cent of the total sales in India as the total automotive industry is around 40 lakh.

"We expect this entire compact SUV to grow faster than the rest of the industry and it will go up to 24 per cent by 2021," he said.

He said people slowly move from car on to SUV and that trend is happening in India currently.

Ford is also doing good in Punjab and the northern states, he said to a query.

To a question, Varma said, "We are exporting to more than 50 countries. We are going to start exports of this vehicle to North America also from November."

"We are also exporting to Middle East, South Africa, Mexico and lot of other emerging markets," he said.

When asked to comment on markets like Brazil, Thailand and China, he said, "We also have plants there which is also producing EcoSport but for those markets. Like in Brazil, they produce it for South America, China is primarily for China and Thailand is for Asean and other markets. We are simultaneously also launching the new EcoSport in these markets as well".

"Out of India, we have sold more than 2 lakh EcoSport," he added.

Asked how GST had impacted the market, he said, "in the short term, yes, there are hurdles, primarily in procedural compliances, but in the long term we expect GST will be beneficial and we are supportive of the GST."