Ford clocks 300% growth in Gujarat

Its Ahmedabad dealership alone has managed to sell 1500 Figos

Gujarat has turned out to be one of the fastest growing markets for Ford India this year. The company has managed to grow by 300 per cent in Gujarat during 2010, at a time when its average annual sales grew by 184 per cent across India.

Anurag Mehrotra, vice president, marketing, Ford India, said, "Around 28 per cent of our net sales in the West comes from Gujarat. It is one of the fastest growing markets for us, and we are very bullish on growing our footprint in the state." He, however, did not want to share the exact number of vehicles it has sold in Gujarat during the year. Its Ahmedabad dealership alone has managed to sell 1500 Figos. The company sold 10,000 units in January 2011, making it the highest selling month in the history of Ford India, of which 8,600 units were Figos.

Bulk of the sales has come on the back of Ford India's newest offering, the hatchback Figo, that was launched in March last year. The car has already sold 69,000 units, and Ford hopes to touch the 75,000 units figure soon.

Ford has eight dealerships and 10 service points in Gujarat and is planning to expand its dealer network in the state. It has already grown from 120 units in 2009 to 170 units in 2010, and expects to touch 200 within this year.

Mehrotra said that in 2010 the overall automotive market in the country grew by 36 per cent, among which the passenger vehicles segment clocked a 31 per cent growth. In comparison, Ford India has managed to grow by 184 per cent during the year, from 30,000 units in 2009 to 84,000 units in 2010. Banking on this huge growth, the company has, meanwhile, announced that it will launch eight new models across India in coming four years. The company is contemplating unveiling its all-new Fiesta in this year. Ford India confirmed that it has stopped production of this nine-year old car model to make way for newer products and is already preparing to launch a brand new car later this year.

The company is also preparing to launch new model of Fiesta. With the new-generation Fiesta, the American carmaker will look at strengthening its presence in the sedan segment.

This will be the company’s first launch after Figo, which hit the roads in March 2010. The proposed launch of the new Fiesta is part of the company’s strategy to come out with a new model every 12-18 months.

Mehrotra said, “The Indian consumer wants value for money, and so our upcoming offerings would focus on offering the value proposition to the Indian customer.”