It seldom happens that a car manufacturer is left in lurch because of a demand that far exceeds its production capabilities. Looks like it’s happening at Ford here in India. The ‘softroader’ Ford EcoSport seems to have caught the fancy of Indian buyers with waiting period from booking to delivery stretching to almost a year.
Amidst all this humdrum, Ford has decided to increase the price of EcoSport for the second time since the launch of the car in June 2013. The first price hike was in September last year. Although Ford is enjoying raking in the moolah, it is not oblivious of the fact that a large percentage of its customers are anything but pleased with increasing prices and longish delivery times.
The price hike announced recently makes the different variants of EcoSport dearer by INR 59,000 to INR 75,000. Ford has 10 models of EcoSport presently on sale; the cheapest being the 1.5P (Petrol) Ambiente at INR 6.19 lacs and the highest asking price of INR 9.74 lacs is for the 1.5D (diesel) Titanium (O).
It is worth mentioning that the EcoSport manufactured here in India also gets exported to different countries. At the launch of the vehicle Ford had capped the maximum number of domestic preorders at 60,000 units. Even that figure, as Ford found out later, was beyond its manufacturing capabilities.
For now, Ford is trying to cajole the EcoSport buyers to have a look at other products on its shelf. If they like any other car on sale (Figo, Endeavour Classic and Fiesta ), they can have it and get INR 10,000 discount in addition to the other discounts that are prevailing on their cars. The company has also offered to refund the entire booking amount for the EcoSport with a ‘no-questions-asked’ policy, which, to me, sounds like being told on your wedding day that the bride has gone missing, and so you can pick another girl from among the guests.
EcoSport is still a fairly well priced car we believe but Ford has not been able to handle its management well. This, we believe, is partially because of the insane response the car has received which is beyond their production capabilities.
Also Check Out: Ford EcoSport: Has Ford Messed Up Things? 5 Stinkers!
