The launch of Ford Mondeo, the luxury car of Ford India is expected to result in higher sales of its other product Ikon. The company today unveiled the car in Mumbai for media preview.
Randy Shockley, executive vice-president (marketing & sales) of Ford India, said, "We expect our brand building exercise through the launch of the Mondeo to also result in higher sales of the Ikon."
In fact, a few senior company officials feel that the launch of the Mondeo, scheduled in December, will enhance the brand image of the company in India as a premium car manufacturer, and are hopeful that this will also result in improved sales of Ikon.
Ford India is planning to import the Mondeo in the form of completely built units (CBU) from Ford Motor Company's plant at Genk, Belgium.
Company officials declined to disclose the price of the Mondeo, but hinted that the price would be "comparable" to competing products in the D-segment -- Hyundai Sonata and Honda Accord.
Commenting on the flagging domestic sales of the Ikon, Shockley said, "As compared to the 20 per cent decline in overall sales in the C segment, Ikon sales have dipped by only 14 per cent. We have actually improved our market share in the segment by two per cent (to 24 per cent)."
Senior Ford India officials said efforts were on to enlarge the company's product portfolio, but did not reveal more. The company is considering, among other options, an offering in the price range between the Ford Ikon (Rs 5.4-7 lakh) and the Mondeo, expected to cost around Rs 15 lakh according to industry estimates.
