Ford stopped production in India, What does this mean to customers?
Ford Stopped production in India, Let’s see the reasons they failed in India, and how will it affect the current car list of Ford
- First, they have faced a $2 billion loss in the last decade. Ford was operating in India for the past 25 years yet its market share is only 2%. Which is not at all good for any company
- Another reason was the cost of running the production plant was high, Ford has 2 plants one in Sandhan Gujarat and one in Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai
- Also, Ford did not understand the Indian market and did not offer what Indian consumers want. They did not offer tech and features when compared to their competitors. In India, people always look for value for money over other factors
- Ford tried a deal with Mahindra and they were planning to launch SUV’s in India, but the Joint venture failed, for various different reasons. This hit Ford and they did not have plan B.
Ford Car list in India
Ford Escort was the first car in India
Followed by Ford Ikon one of my favourite cars of all time. And also Ford Mondeo.
Followed by Fiesta and Endeavour, both of them were brilliant vehicles.
They launched Ford fusion which did not do well
Then they launched EcoSport (The most sold Ford car in India)
And hatchbacks like Figo & Freestyle. and sub-4-meter sedan Aspire
These are the Ford car list in India. They made some good cars but were just not able to break the barrier and make it big.
Endeavour and Ecosport are really good vehicles in the current market, and it is sad that they won’t be sold in future.
Will this affect the current customers?
- Surely this will affect the existing customers as they would lose the trust over the company, but Ford has ensured that they will provide the warranty and service, also they will make sure the availability of spare parts.
- Also, there are over a million cars on the Indian market, the dealership can benefit from car servicing, as most car dealerships earn most of their income from car servicing. But surely the number of dealerships and service centres will gradually come down.
- Ford is going to focus on imports and is going to import cars like Mustang, and Mustang Mach-e. Also, we might see the Ford Bronco SUV (one of my favourites) in the coming times.
- Though importing means import duty which is 100% of the cost of the car, which will make the cars expensive and out of reach for quite a good chunk of customers. I really would have hoped the Joint Venture worked for Ford so that we can see at least CKD (Completely Knocked Down) cars which does not have import duty on them.
- The sales of existing models of EcoSport, Figo, Aspire, Freestyle and the Endeavour will be over as soon as the inventories are cleared out.
- So no need to worry if you own a Ford, you will get good service as Ford is a global brand and they would not want their name to be affected, in an emerging market like India.
Being said that the resale value is going to be affected due to Ford stopped production in India
