Ford Figo for India
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27th September, 2009
India’s role as an important player in the future of
Ford Motor Company’s international strategy was underscored this week when the company’s President
and CEO, Alan Mulally, unveiled an all-new car targeting the Indian car market – the Ford Figo.
The Ford Figo, a new nameplate and a fresh 'face' on the Indian market, signals Ford’s intention
to compete in India’s largest and most important small car market segment.
Ford Figo is the result of a significant investment commitment by Ford Motor Company to expand
its plant near Chennai for volume production of a small car. Ford’s $500 million investment has
doubled the plant’s production capacity to 200,000 units per year and introduces major advances in
high-quality automation and innovative, eco-friendly production techniques.
“Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India,” Mulally said. “It
reflects our commitment to compete with great products in all segments of this car market. We are
confident the Ford Figo will be a product that Indian consumers really want and value.”
Ford Figo is designed and engineered to compete in India’s small car segment, which accounts for
more than 70 per cent of the new vehicle market. It leverages Ford’s small-car platform architecture,
sharing underlying technology with the Ford Fiesta, already familiar to Indian drivers.
New Shape, Solid Foundation
The introduction in Delhi was the first public preview of the exterior design of the new Figo.
Ford is reserving further details about the vehicle until closer to its production launch in early
2010.
Design-conscious Italy inspired the new Ford Figo’s name. The word "Figo" being a colloquial
Italian expression meaning “cool.”
Sharing key elements of Ford’s kinetic design language with vehicles like the globally renowned
Focus, Mondeo and the Fiesta, Ford Figo features a fresh, contemporary shape that will be a
distinctive alternative to traditional brands in this segment. The design language conveys a dynamic
spirit of energy in motion.
Quality, substance and generous proportions are clearly evident in the design of the new Ford
Figo, which features a solid stance, an invitingly large interior and a vibrant, youthful character.
Its package is right-sized for the Indian market, which is dominated by congested urban driving
conditions.
From its modern headlamps, grille shapes and sculpted bonnet of its distinctive 'face' to the
subtle integrated spoiler and chamfered window shape at the rear, Ford Figo is filled with kinetic
design touches. These also include sculpted shapes to the body side – chiseled front mudguards, a
“comet tail” undercut in the doors and additional light-catching sculpting in the lower body side –
which combine to communicate the solidity, substance and protective safety of its design.
The bold graphic of Ford Figo’s large side window shape is another key kinetic design feature
hinting at the comfort and spaciousness awaiting occupants’ front and rear. The side window graphic
is executed with a blacked-out B-pillar, an elegant design touch that unifies the side windows into
one shape visually.
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With its wheels positioned at the four corners of the vehicle with minimal overhang, Ford Figo’s
bold wheel arches self-assuredly signal its agility and solidity.
“We’re confident that the new Ford Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian car buyers,”
said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India. “It’s going to be very
competitive with the current market leaders and offer a tremendous value story for our consumers. We
believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume
player in India.”
New Ford Regional Production Centre
The introduction of the new Ford Figo marks a significant shift for India’s role in Ford’s
strategy. Transformed with a production capacity of 200,000 units, the integrated Chennai manufacturing
facility is now positioned as a Ford regional centre of excellence for small-car engineering and
production.
Ford Figo models will be produced at the plant for export to international markets. The plant is also
being groomed to produce diesel and petrol engines for local vehicle production and export within Ford’s
Asia Pacific and Africa region.
With more automation and high-tech new facilities, the new site reflects the latest Ford
manufacturing processes globally and pioneers new technologies for Ford and India. Designed with a “best
of the best” approach, it has been benchmarked against other competitive facilities globally, as well
as the current volume manufacturers in the Indian market, for quality and production efficiency.
The transformed plant introduces eco-friendly production techniques like its new Three-Wet High-Solids
paint process. This approach produces beautifully painted vehicles with three wet coats – primer, base
coat and clear coat – of high solids-content paint applied one after the other without oven curing
between coats. A first for India, it produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions and reduces volatile organic
compounds emissions by about 20 per cent compared to current medium-solids solvent-borne paints. Use of
high-solids content results in a paint finish with high levels of gloss and depth of colour which is more
resistant to scratches and stone chips.
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