[musclecar]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I know a bunch of my friends who were waiting for the Ecosport to launch! One of them bought a Punto a month back; another one has lost his interest already and said he will NOT even bother to check out this car. Two of them who want to buy this car are also getting turned off by the delay. So all in all, 4 out of 5 people (in my close circle) who were interested in this car has almost written this off. How long can Ford keep people interested?

And after all this hoopla, if they do NOT launch the car below 6L ex showroom, they have some serious trouble up their back!!

Even I have been waiting for the Lauch of the ecosport. For Ford to pull this off, they have to launch it ASAP with an attractive price. Otherwise Ford might have another Feista in the making.

[MotoNanu]

As I said earlier, if the price is not what is doing the rumors, Ford has already lost it!
The more time they take to build the interest, the more expectations are probably gonna crash.
Last few posts are evident enough that Ford needs to buckle up, but the question is:
Is Ford listening?
It would really be a disaster to see such a capable vehicle losing out to others only due to the time factor.

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Me thinks, they will launch it ONLY by June 2013. Reason? Their Ecosport Discoveries contest says the 35 participants in Stage 2 will be the first ones to drive the vehicle before anyone does! The fine print also says the contest ends in June 2013 where they declare one team as winners. if you read this together, Ford says the launch will be in June, after the end of the contest!!

But,how do you know that Stage 2 will be the last stage of the competition.Maybe there would be more stages before the competition ends in June 2013 and the Ecosport is launched before the competition is finished sometime around early May

[Visaster]

I have been reading a lot about ford ecosport.
My virtual impression

Head turner in some angles.
Smaller than duster (exterior and interior)
More stylish than duster (exterior and interior)
Will definitely be more expensive than duster in the range of 65-80K
Ford is no company which is going to go downer than renault.
i am not getting my hopes running high with the pricing.

Sales of ecosport is supposedly higher than duster last month. (where its already launched)
Ford is just increasing its market share and making a profit with the campaign. More they delay the launch higher their market share score.

Can anyone provide me the engine comparison of ecosport and the duster?
Is the cabin comparable to the size of honda jazz?

[over.drive]

I hope Ford has a strong enough reason for delaying the EcoSport launch. I too was considering getting the EcoSport until recently. Strangely, I have lost interest in the vehicle. I have started looking for a less used XUV or Duster already. Will be checking out a 4 month used XUV W8 today .

Even if Ford launch EcoSport in June, I believe it will be end of June or July before people start getting their cars, that is if there isn't an unexpected delay due to a large number of bookings. Does not make sense getting in the initial rush, at least for me it doesn't. I am sure the market will be flooded with Ecosports in a few months just like the XUV, Fluidic Verna etc. But if you don't have a car and are waiting for EcoSport to launch then I guess it is a different story.

[ACM]

There are many customers who cannot and will not wait for an upcoming car launch, and they are perfectly correct in their approach.

Yet the overall market of car buyers per month more or less remains constant so rather than trying to tap into customers as soon as possible (which would be good) it is more important to maintain a higher run rate for sales per month post launch and to be able to deliver the product in a reasonable qtty compared to the demand. Yep many among us may be dissapointed by the delay in Ford Launch but it may actually make better business logic to Ford to launch the product after a good awareness campaign. Very few in the real worlds outside of TBHPians and other Automotive fans would be sufficently aware of the ECOSport and Ford is right in taking it's time to get that bit right. They need to come across as winning over the Duster right from the start, to not risk the fate of the fiesta.

Yep they also need to price the product well but if it is a product in the league of or better than the Duster then we must also expect similar pricing. We can only wish that they dont end up with a scenario similar to newer Verna and new ford in sales numbers and pricing and product placement.

Small / compact is not really perceived as better by Indians in the SUV / MUV market space.

[MotoNanu]

Minor update from ACI on the Ecosport from Geneva Auto Show:

http://www.overdrive.in/details/2949...-Ford-EcoSport

One of the points mentioned is really interesting and to cheer for, though we all already know it

If this car doesn't do well sales wise, it will either be pricing or a mystery sort of like the Bermuda Triangle

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by MotoNanu

Minor update from ACI on the Ecosport from Geneva Auto Show:

http://www.overdrive.in/details/2949...-Ford-EcoSport

One of the points mentioned is really interesting and to cheer for, though we all already know it

Good to get more info but that source is not ACI, It is the Overdrive Magazine

[srishiva]

I know its disappointing to us that Ford is delaying this launch. But are we sure that the general public even knows about this impending launch?

Finally, its not the time but the price and content (size) that is going to decide the fate of this product (comparisons will be against Duster)

[Sommos]

Just happened to come across this article in DriveInside :

In a very interesting article from the BBC, a journalist had some very important things to say about the new technology in smaller displacement turbo engines. This year the Ford EcoSport will be coming to India, and it will be powered by a small 1 litre turbo engine called the EcoBoost. The purpose of Ford’s new smaller engines is to replace larger engines with smaller ones that can provide the same amount of power. However, there are now reports coming in from various consumer websites and forums, and even written letters have been sent to manufacturers that their smaller engines are not living up to their promise of providing more power and more efficiency.

The journalist who wrote the article was testing a 1 litre3-cylinder EcoBoost engine driving it at full speed and found that the 1.6 litre 4-cylinder actually provided a better fuel economy. An engineer responded by claiming that smaller turbo charged engines require more fuel to operate under the strain at full speed.

Link : Latest turbo engines are not good enough : DriveInside

[MotoNanu]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Just happened to come across this article in DriveInside :



Link : Latest turbo engines are not good enough : DriveInside

Well, this is a known issue/ shortcoming. The point is how many of us, especially in day to day lives will be going at such speeds (I guess 140+ ?).
For the city traffic and the usual highway cruising at 120-140, this issue will not be a deal breaker.

[dnahelix]

Originally Posted by ACM

There are many customers who cannot and will not wait for an upcoming car launch, and they are perfectly correct in their approach.

Yet the overall market of car buyers per month more or less remains constant so rather than trying to tap into customers as soon as possible (which would be good) it is more important to maintain a higher run rate for sales per month post launch and to be able to deliver the product in a reasonable qtty compared to the demand. .

While I agree with ballpark on number of customers, I certainly feel there is high degree of awareness among potential customers already which explains the unofficial pre-bookings at dealerships. If I were Ford - I would double check competitive intelligence on VW Taigun and Honda's compact SUV as they may severely disrupt the market share capture plans for Ecosport. The window of opportunity lies between Duster's long wait period and lead-up to launch other alternatives that would have been about 1 year with March launch. It is reduced by 4-5 months with delay and eats into your market share opportunity.
I am not too sure about Rs.5-6 lakhs introductory price; with all excise benefits of sub-4-meter and sub-1.5 liter petrol, it may have the advantage of Rs.100,000/- over Ford Fiesta pegging its price to Rs.9 lakhs; with EcoBoost premium and slight improvement of interior you have a near parity unless the scrounge seriously on the component quality. My bet - Rs.11.5 lakhs for a Titanium trim and slightly more Titanium + Poweshift trim. Not quite a volume market.

[rajesh.sml]

Originally Posted by dnahelix

While I agree with ballpark on number of customers, I certainly feel there is high degree of awareness among potential customers already which explains the unofficial pre-bookings at dealerships. If I were Ford - I would double check competitive intelligence on VW Taigun and Honda's compact SUV as they may severely disrupt the market share capture plans for Ecosport. The window of opportunity lies between Duster's long wait period and lead-up to launch other alternatives that would have been about 1 year with March launch. It is reduced by 4-5 months with delay and eats into your market share opportunity.
I am not too sure about Rs.5-6 lakhs introductory price; with all excise benefits of sub-4-meter and sub-1.5 liter petrol, it may have the advantage of Rs.100,000/- over Ford Fiesta pegging its price to Rs.9 lakhs; with EcoBoost premium and slight improvement of interior you have a near parity unless the scrounge seriously on the component quality. My bet - Rs.11.5 lakhs for a Titanium trim and slightly more Titanium + Poweshift trim. Not quite a volume market.

The excise benefit has been rightly calculated, but the charging premium on new technology will kill the advantage. Ford is rightnow giving discount of 75000 on Fiesta. So localization plus forward calculation of these discounts will keep the price down.

So I think 9 lakhs for Diesel Titanium will be a good price.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Just happened to come across this article in DriveInside :



Link : Latest turbo engines are not good enough : DriveInside

Energy required for some amount of work should be almost same irrespective of engines. So the fuel input should also be same. Isn't it?

The main gain of turbo engines are that at non-turbo band, you will save fuel compared to bigger engines. Plus the weight savings for the engine itself.

[pro711]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I know a bunch of my friends who were waiting for the Ecosport to launch! One of them bought a Punto a month back; another one has lost his interest already and said he will NOT even bother to check out this car. Two of them who want to buy this car are also getting turned off by the delay. So all in all, 4 out of 5 people (in my close circle) who were interested in this car has almost written this off. How long can Ford keep people interested?

And after all this hoopla, if they do NOT launch the car below 6L ex showroom, they have some serious trouble up their back!!

I too am thinking of cosidering the Verna it was one of the two cars I had shortlisted along with the Ecosport, the wait is just too long. I am sure anyone who is in the market for a car at present can wait to a couple of months or a little more, if there is some official update/announcement. However, without an offical statement it's just not worth the wait. I hope Ford shares some information soon.