Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 0:29 - Ford's return to India 1:29 - Ford and Mahindra JV 3:54 - Ford didn't entirely leave 4:43 - Chasing Maruti 5:55 - Signs of a return 6:13 - Sanand plant: A wrong move 7:55 - Keeping the Chennai plant 10:30 - Ford Endeavour could return 13:37 - Ford electric cars for India 15:49 - No new ICE models for India 16:45 - Imported cars an option 17:40 - Ford could come in with a measured approach 18:00 - Ford's DNA
Just holding my purchase plan for a few months if Everest is coming. Almost finalised Jeep Merdian and dropped the plan for now and eagerly waiting for Everest's comeback. Hope I won't be disappointed in every aspects 😊
Dear Mr.Hormazd Sorabjee, I am an admirer of yours. I have read both the articles. They are very informative and have rather overly tried to be balanced. Actually I am a Ford Ecosport owner myself (my brother owns an Aspire) and can tell you that a Ford car in India is perhaps the most Honest Deal. I had owned three other brands earlier but his was entirely different. In fact I blame the pathetic craving of Indian buyers for substandard cheap unsafe cars for missing out on the real cars that could have been here. Ford was too honest with their offerings - but our buyers would go for cheap and Ugly Maruti cars - they are horrendous and should be avoided. Korean cars are all of shine and jingbang but very unsafe and ridiculously pricey. SO IT IS OUR IGNORANT BUYERS WHO ARE TO BE BLAMED FOR KILLING A GREAT CAR. As regards JVs - Tata killed Fiat - I bore the brunt as a Fiat car owner - and Mahindra did Ford in. Too bad. The mindset behind looking for everything that is "cheap" actually destroyed the car market. Maruti/Korean brands are NOT leaders as you have called them. They make cheap/ ugly/highly unsafe cars and constitute a great fraud perpetrated on our ignorant buyers. The only silver lining is TATA - even Mahindra has demonstrated a fundamental lack of Grace in their design Elegance. Tractors and earthmovers look better perhaps. It is the responsibility of the society to differentiate between the "good" and the "bad" in any field for that matter.
SUVs are not the same everywhere. In America SUV means a car with a big engine & 4x4 capability, whereas in India it means a jacked up 4x2 hatchback with puny engine & large ground clearance. Ford knows how to make real SUVs, not the pseudo SUVs that we people like.
I have my 3.2 litre endeavour for 6 years now and no complaints still. Thought of purchasing fortuner but changed my mind. Will wait for the new version. And still won’t sell the older 3.2
Come man what to do ? I think they will receart history for all the sectors as it was the first company that created assembly lines and India cannot be ignored Missing you Ford plz come soon Team Autocar Thank you for the highlights and rase the information 🙏 Let's see when the show gets a come back
My one is Ford Freestyle.....now I want to be free from all negative thoughts....let's celebrate.... "we (ford) beat in your hearts" insted of 'Ek alag si family wali feeling' as New tagline.... #Ford @ford
There are lot of information going in an around about Everest and Eco sports but I am curious to know about there under dog car of Ford "freestyle". Is there any chance if Ford returns there are chances that new freestyle will come to road!
When you say, they wouldn't want to go through the process of updating their engines to BS6.2 specifications, and homologation, can they just not enter a JV with the likes of Tata or Mahindra, and just use their IC Engines?
I being a Ford TDCI owner can confirm that it's cheaper to own than the Tata for sure. Maruti are cheaper though but the whole quality of service & Spares is way better.
EV Market 4 Wheeler market is still around 2% of overall 4 Wheeler sales. The majority of the country still lacks a charging infra. Don't know what will happen after 4 years but the global ev market has crashed for the same reason due to which We all hesitate to buy an EV. Investing in a market which sells around 15 K units that are majorly occupied by Tata. You still need a handful of ice engines running on the road to sustain the investment
If Ford is not going to sell ICE then what are they going to sell in India ?? Are they going to serve 5% EV market or only Premium SUV which is also less than 3% market.. They have already patented SUV's like Territory, Creta competitor segment... Still ICE market is alive in India more than 90% may be they can try Hybrid as well..
Conpact SUVs are rocking Indian market way more than hatch back, sedan etc. In fact, every car maker is tending towards mini SUV. So, why not KING OF COMPACT SUV ECOSPORT in India? India is growing up slowly, now, middle class families in India are buying 8 to 12 lacs cars unlike 2000 to 2010. Ford has to come back with new/next Gen. Ecosport and regain its deserted thrown.
Ecosport is a solid car. There’s no point selling it rightnow if the mechanicals are working fine. Ford did say that their sevice centres are gonna stay for atleast 10years when they left so spares and services shouldn’t be a problem. Enjoy the car for now, you won’t get any better VFM product rightnow in the market with prices of cars going up like crazy and also selling ecosport won’t get you much money so better enjoy it as long as you can.
Ford is slightly better than GM when it comes to bad implementation of globalization, the failed plant that they actually sold is a case study of typical American arrogance towards foreign markets. With that said, I dont think they will come back to India, they arent going to sell thier remaining plant because no one serious is going to buy it. They will however probably use it to built parts to service the Indian market and some export. Ford is spending alot in other markets, especially on the money pit that are EV's(and with the unfortunately named Mustang Mach E that they have to fix)they need all the cash they can get. They will sell India lower specced Everests however.
Ford is again doing a mistake. India is still not ready for EVs. The charging infrastructure is non-existent. May be in 5 years it might be, Ford should wait for 2-3 years time before entering India with its EVs.
16:20 A small thing to not forget is Ford still operates an ENGINE plant in Sanand! While they gave away the rest of the plant to TATA, they have held on to the Engine plant. I wouldn't discount a few more ICE vehicles from Ford if they're really serious about coming back to India. Despite all the hype, EV infrastructure as well as EV costs still have miles to go to come close to the realm of middle class India. EVs haven't been the blockbuster everyone thought they would be even in US. So yeah I'd say Ford is likely to keep its options open in India as dar as ICE is concerned
Our wallets didn't match the "fandom". My figo still feels relevant 7 years after I purchased it with tech like speed governance and audio tuning matched to speed. 6 Airbags were unheard of and also built like a tank. I wonder why would they build a "good car" . Check how the journos reviewed the figo then.
i hope they bring back hothatchs , focus is an excellent car and would be feasible in india with polo being small, coming back next year maybe and golf and civic type r not available it may work. i would definitely buy one if they introduce rs or st line
If no ICE vehicle other than Everest than what about the "Territory" trademark they registered few days back? Territory is an ICE MPV sold in other markets.
Just a slight correction about the Territory. It's actually a compact crossover that served as the successor of the Escape in certain markets. While the first gen was just a rebadged Yusheng crossover, the second generation is now more of a Ford even if it's still made under the same JV in China.
Betting too much on EVs is also not a great strategy. I think hybrids could be the near future in India. If govt gives subsidies on hybrids then everyone will buy hybrids for at least 5-6 years before charging infrastructure comes up in India to support EVs.
What happened to Ford in India is a tragedy. As one of the first major auto OEMs to take India seriously and launch class-leading products, it's truly disappointing if they're going to ignore their affordable lineup. People will miss successors to the Ecosport, Aspire, and Figo.
Mahindra and JV - never worked - Ssangyong, Navistar, Reva. The powers whosoever at Ford - I will say - never understood the Indian market the way Suzuki and Hyundai did.
I'm a proud owner of ecosport. It's an amazing vehicle. Low maintenance, it ticks every box, and fun to drive! I think Ford should come back and reintroduce the ecosport in the facelift version 😊
I've still held on to my "new" Fiesta 10 years hence (12th year running). Still not a single body rattle and to top it off, no new mid-size sedan or hatchback handles as good. Truly a hoot to drive!
I had booked Scorpio n waiting period of 9 month's 😂 Nd *Ford* filed a trademark of *territory* 😅 and after hearing this we ( father & son ) are confused Because we own ecosport nd now we would love ho buy *FORD* again ❤
Hope Territory is coming to India and I sincerely hope they are bringing their diesel engines here. One of the best engines in the market. Buying diesel Ecosport in 2020 was the best decision I took and I am glad I chose it over Kia Sonet.
Automakers must learn to introduce new Models, like Ford never bothered about new models, they release in the World wide. Many Models available in other Countries Why not in India
I don't know why people talk too much about Ecosport. It was never a good vehicle. I rode one of my friend's Ecosport. It never had good handling. However other ford cars like Aspire Figo Fiesta have good control and handling.
Dear Ford, please dont repeat your blunders...How long you have been in India..??? 40+ years, and what have you learned about a typical indian consumer.???? Nothing...at least Learn from KIA.....Selling only a 50 lksh SUV in India doesnt gonna work..im a huge endeavour Fan, but You cant beat Fortuner by the volume of the sales.
indian car market is just harassment to enthusiasts and manufactures ...not miata no subaru no real nline no sportage .. no i30n ..no vw gti ..bunch fwd mania ...even in bike market no dualsports no trails no mx no enduro no nothing ...pure disappointment
Fords have hybrids( escape/kuga)/ Flex fuel cars etc etc. May be they can come up in the compass segment with a Kuga/escape hybrid. They can bring in Endeavour V6 diesel etc. They have the potential but mostly thinking in wrong direction..
They need atleast 1 more suv in 10L bracket.. else they will suffocate again.. Right now it's hard to pierce EV market from tata as they have the support of tata power..
