Ford India said on March 9 that with the launch of its much-awaited compact car Figo at a highly competitive price point, it aims to become a major player in the rapidly growing Indian auto market.

It launched the made-for-India `Figo' in the price range of Rs 3.49 lakh to Rs 4.42 lakh for the petrol version and Rs 4.47 lakh to Rs 5.29 lakh for the diesel version. The small car, which is the first vehicle developed under its `One Ford' strategy, will be available in four trim levels - LXI, EXI, ZXI and Titanium - and will be offered with a choice of two engines, a 1.2 litre Duratec petrol and a 1.4 litre Duratorq diesel. Both these engines will be manufactured at the company's new 2.5-lakh capacity engine plant near Chennai.

"Figo is an extremely important product for Ford in the Indian market. We see it being a significant part of Ford's business in India. The package you get for the price - the value proposition is unlike anyone else's. It's been designed for the Indian consumer and we're confident that we have a very competitive product in what we're offering. We have a number of orders even before we announced the pricing, which shows the excitement behind the car," said Mr Joe Hinrichs, Group Vice-President and President, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Ford Motor Company.

According to the company, Figo gives a fuel economy of around 15.6 km a litre and 20 km a litre for the petrol and diesel versions, respectively. Underlining Ford's reliance on Figo as a driver for its fortunes in India, Mr Nigel Wark, Executive Director, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India, said that with premium products in its portfolio, the company had been operating in only 20 per cent of the market for the last many years, but the Figo is expected to change all that.

Mr Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director, said that the component localisation for the Figo is high at 85 per cent, which will keep maintenance costs low for the car and should make it even more attractive to the segment. "Figo is an important part of our business strategy in India. If you are not present in the B-segment, you are not in the market at all," he said.

Ford said that it will use its new two-lakh capacity Chennai car plant as an export unit for the Figo, which at the moment will only be manufactured in India. Figo exports will kick off with South Africa by end-2010, followed by other countries. "We believe that Figo will do well here and in the export markets. It is based on a platform which is already in production in Europe and in India. We'll start by exporting it to South Africa later this year. Beyond that, we're working on other plans as well," said Mr Hinrichs.

The company added that for the export markets, it will fit 1.4 litre petrol and 1.6 litre diesel engines in the car, which will be manufactured at the same plant. When asked about the automaker's near-term plan for the Indian market, Ford indicated toward the development of a new platform, besides the launch of the 2010 model year Fiesta, which has been seen doing test runs around the country. The company had earlier said that it would launch a new product every 12-18 months.