What was very American just got very Indian. The Blue Oval says it has kick-started in India what it did to America, and later the rest of the world: Bring out cars for the masses. Ford Motor Company has launched in the country its first B-segment compact car, the Figo (Italian for cool). It is nearly 90 per cent made of local components, designed for local roads and even painted with colours that work in India.
Ford surely needs something special to improve its fortunes in India — the new battlefront for the world’s top car makers. Though it was amongst the first car makers from the West to enter India 12 years ago, it sold just 30,500 cars in 2009, which translates into a tiny market share of 1.8 per cent. It had started out with the Escort and added new models at regular intervals. The current line-up includes the Ikon, Fiesta, Endeavour and now the Figo. (The Fusion has been discontinued.) The Figo, it hopes, will add substantially to its numbers in India. The company is likely to have a better fix on sale projections two or three months later. Meanwhile, a campaign for the Figo devised by JWT is on air, and viral marketing on social networking sites has begun. No celebrities to endorse the new car this time — Ford had got Abhishek Bachchan for the Fiesta but ended the campaign in no time.
Ford does need to try every trick in the bag. After all, the Indian market for small cars is extremely competitive and it will not be a cakewalk for Ford. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are well-entrenched, and Tata Motors has opened a new flank with the Nano. General Motors has launched the Beat, while Honda, Volkswagen and Toyota have begun to give shape to their small cars. Renault Nissan wants a piece of the action desperately. A resurgent Fiat too has ambitious plans.
Customer clarity
Aware that they need to think out of the box, Ford designers sat with the Indian marketing team and first gave shape to the customer. The car would come later. The Figo customer was identified as ‘Sandeep’. He was 26 or 27 years old, held a professional degree and was ambitious to move up socially as well as professionally. Newly married with no children, he lived with his parents or extended family and strived to maintain a balance between family and work. At the same time, Sandeep was highly optimistic that he will be recognised for his contributions at work and was thus on his way up on the career ladder. With his newfound success, a car was seen as an exclusive space where he could enjoy freedom from the pressures of work, listen to music and take his wife out safely at night or pick up friends for an evening out in the city.
These were the functions the new small car was meant to perform. “We were clear on what we wanted for India — a car that will appeal to the mature youth. This is a young couple that has just got married and is full of dreams, aspires for a car that will reflect its smart attitude and at the same time be full of utilities. The Figo delivers all of that,” says Ford Motor Company Group Vice-president and President (Asia Pacific and Africa) Joe Hinrichs. Ford, in other words, has in its crosshairs the typical new-economy Indian society. So, it has made the Figo a car that has a lot going for the “Sandeeps” in terms of size, features, powertrain and interiors.
To start with, the Figo is the longest compact hatchback in India. This could be a differentiator. Ford India President & Managing Director Michael Boneham says: “A vehicle in the small car segment need not necessarily be small, cute and toyish.” The Figo is mature. At the same time, its width has been kept small enough for the tight confines of the roads in most cities.
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