Ford plans to launch small car

Ford has started work on a new low-cost small car. The new small car would not be confined to one market but will be available across all markets spanning countries like India, China,Eastern Europe and South America. This car that will be tagged as a Rs 3 lakh-plus price range car will be one of the low-cost cars for the company globally. John G Parker, Ford group executive V-P for Asia-Pacific and Africa has made this statement to the press that, We plan to grow business in B(small) cars globally, and especially in the Asia-Pacific region where we plan to raise the share of B cars to our line-up from 15% to 45%.

Hyundai, Suzuki and GM too have shifted base to India so even Ford may do that. Potential wise India may be the preferred destination for the global development and manufacturing base for such a low-cost car but this is not the case as yet.

Parker also clarified that this new car would be different to the small car that Ford would be launching in India in 2010.Ford is working on a low-cost product to push up sales globally and now joins companies like GM and Hyundai who too have announced exploratory plans in the segment that holds the potential of big volumes in fast-developing markets like India. On specific India plans, Parker said the company's new small car was on course and would be out by 2010, with localization of over 80%.

Ford plans to have more than one car in the small car segment as it is a crucial segment. India is a big car market and we can't just meet the demand with just one product in small cars, he said.The company is investing around $500 million bugs in India for building small car and engine manufacturing capacity.