Ford India, preparing for the launch next month of its new [previous generation European Fiesta based] Figo, has signed up 28 new dealers which opened their doors this week.
The new retailers take Ford’s network to 164 facilities in 97 cities across India, an increase of 30% in the past two years.
The introduction of the Figo will mark a significant shift for India’s role in the global ONE Ford strategy that is transforming how the company brings more small cars to market.
It has invested US$500m to double annual production capacity to 200,000 units at its Chennai manufacturing facility which positions it as a regional centre of excellence for small car engineering and production.
Export Figos will also be produced at the plant and the factory will also produce diesel and petrol engines for local vehicle production and export within the Asia Pacific and Africa region.
The Figo hatchback was designed and engineered to compete in India’s small car segment, which accounts for more than 70% of the new vehicle market. It uses Fiesta small car platform architecture already familiar to Indian customers as it underpins existing sedan models built and sold in India.
Ford India president and managing director Michael Boneham said: “Growing our dealership base, building strong business fundamentals and getting closer to our customers are areas of high priority as we gear up to launch our new Figo and enter this high volume segment in 2010.”
Placing dealerships in close proximity to city centres – where they are conveniently located for customers – has been a core focus area as the automaker continues to broaden its local product range.
Boneham added: “As we expand, we are making sure that our low cost of ownership message is heard by people making buying decisions.”
All the newly-inaugurated showrooms are 'Brand@Retail' dealerships built according to a global standard to improve the ownership experience and ensure a long-term association with the b;ue oval brand.
Boneham said Ford India had been working with dealers to ensure facilities met specific requirements. Staff were trained according to Ford’s global guidelines to meet the demands of increased volume selling. The automaker has tripled dealer sales people from 480 in 2009 to nearly 1,500 this year.
In the past two months, over 1,700 dealer personnel from 97 cities attended in-depth training sessions on the new model.
New dealers have opened in New Delhi, Sangrur, Haldwani and Gwalior in the north; Durgapur, Dhanbad and Guwahati in the east; Hyderabad, Chennai, Warangal, Vellore, Salem, Vijayawada and Malappuram in the south; and Bilaspur and Mehsana in the west.
There is also a new showroom in the East Delhi metro rail station – the first time Ford has displayed its products in such a location in the Asia Pacific region.
New showrooms and workshops also are now located in Jaipur, Thane, Ahmednagar, Pune, Vapi, Ahmedabad and Cochin.
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