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Ford launches EcoSport at Rs 5.59 lakh
US car major Ford on Wednesday launched its much awaited compact SUV EcoSport at an aggressive entry level price of Rs 5.59 lakh (ex showroom). To be available with three engine options and a host of variants, the top end diesel version will cost Rs 8.99 lakh. HT reports.
US car major Ford on Wednesday launched its much awaited compact SUV EcoSport at an aggressive entry level price of Rs 5.59 lakh (ex showroom).
To be available with three engine options and a host of variants, the top end diesel version will cost Rs 8.99 lakh. It is powered by two petrol engines — 1.0 litre ecoboost and 1.5 litre engines, and a 1.5 litre diesel engine. There is also an automatic transmission version available with the 1.5 litre petrol engine that will cost Rs 8.45 lakh.
“We expect EcoSport to be a game changer for Ford in India and also set a benchmark in the Indian auto industry,” said Joginder Singh, president and managing director, Ford India. “The car will open up a new segment in India. We expect the compact SUV segment to grow five fold from its current position by 2020.”
The EcoSport will directly compete with the Renault bestselling SUV Duster that was launched exactly a year ago and has sold over 60,000 units. Duster is priced between Rs 7.99-12.18 lakh. With its pricing, it will also cannibalise premium compact cars like Hyundai i20 and sedans like Maruti Dzire and Honda Amaze.
The company invested $142 million (Rs 852 crore) at its Chennai plant to manufacture the model. It will also export the car from here to about 40 markets worldwide. It is also investing $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) to set up its second production facility at Sanand that will be operational by 2014.
