[vij]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Just now saw the Ecosport on NDTV, Car & Bike show. SVP was reporting from Beijing. Some of the key highlights:



1. After the Ertiga launch Ford is reworking on the pricing & expect the Ecosport to priced hand in hand with the top end Ertiga (hope he was referring to the top end Ecosport here).

That should mean according to him base ecosport equals pricing of top end ertiga, else he would just have said -"priced equal to ertiga".

[amit_2025]

Posting the Link of SVP's coverage of the Ecosport from the Beijing Motor Show:

Showstoppers at the Beijing Auto Show

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Just now saw the Ecosport on NDTV, Car & Bike show. SVP was reporting from Beijing. Some of the key highlights:

Couple of more points from the same show.
Vehicle on display had sun roof, grey black interior, steering mounted controls- hope they retain all for India too and it doesnt fall victim of cost cutting after Ertiga launch.
The hatch door handle is integrated inside tail lamp. Expected India release in Jan 2013, and as per the show will come with 1lt 3 cylinder turbo charged engine.

[ampere]

A thought on Ecosport positioning in India:

When I was viewing the Beijing Motor show program on NDTV, few things latched on:

- China has become the largest consumer for Automobiles leaving behind US, Japan and Korea.
- When the host (Siddarth) was interviewing the Ford official about Ecosport pricing, the official uttered the word premium many a time.
- This lead me to suspect if they would price Ecosport a bit higher ?

- Call it a conspiracy theory, but what I suspect is Ford would be more focused on the China market than India. And in China pricing dynamics may be different.
- Ford would be OK to play the premium game with higher margins in India than play the volume game. Because for them volumes would come from China.
- Look at Fiesta sales. Its dead in India, but still it sells volumes around the world.
- Would they continue a similar game with Ecosport?
- This is also to me is suggestive from the fact that Indians have an emotional bend towards an SUV. So even if Ford price it higher than normal, there still would be takers.


All in all, these are all viewpoints only. Please feel free to criticize. Even I would like to be wrong here

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by ampere

- Ford would be OK to play the premium game with higher margins in India than play the volume game. Because for them volumes would come from China.
- Look at Fiesta sales. Its dead in India, but still it sells volumes around the world.

Might not be true, there will be a lot of localization of EcoSport in india. The manufacturing facility can not be run at less than planned utilization capacity (read sacrifice volume for margin). So India will also be a volume market, albeit, the margin play may be different from China. Fiesta lacks the appeal for its segment, competition is different for the this car in India than rest of the world. Feature list available on the fiesta are comparable else where (leading to a different pricing) than competition in India.

But, I take some clue from your observations, agree too, to an extent. EcoSport is a segment first, and they can choose to play their game, no competition to balance it out!

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ampere

A thought on Ecosport positioning in India:
- When the host (Siddarth) was interviewing the Ford official about Ecosport pricing, the official uttered the word premium many a time.
- This lead me to suspect if they would price Ecosport a bit higher ?

I am a bit worried when they use the word ‘premium’. It was used a bit too much during the build-up of the Fiesta, and when it got finally launched, the prizing also was premium. Hope they don’t look to repeat history.

Originally Posted by ampere

- Call it a conspiracy theory, but what I suspect is Ford would be more focused on the China market than India. And in China pricing dynamics may be different.
- Ford would be OK to play the premium game with higher margins in India than play the volume game. Because for them volumes would come from China.
- Look at Fiesta sales. Its dead in India, but still it sells volumes around the world.
- Would they continue a similar game with Ecosport?

Again, quite possible. I remember reading somewhere that, with their One-Ford vision, they actually gauge the success of a specific model by the overall sales, and not by its success in a specific country.

Originally Posted by ampere

- This is also to me is suggestive from the fact that Indians have an emotional bend towards an SUV. So even if Ford price it higher than normal, there still would be takers.

It may be different if the Ecosport come in as a petrol-only option. Indians love SUVs, but not so sure about petrol SUVs

[chaudhrysan]

If India is to be the only manufacturing hub for RHD models, i.e. for local and UK, South Africa and where ever else RHD's are applicable, wouldn't it make sense to price the model well since Ford would like to achieve volumes of scale?

Or is it just wishful thinking?

[vij]

Originally Posted by ampere

A thought on Ecosport positioning in India:

When I was viewing the Beijing Motor show program on NDTV, few things latched on:

- China has become the largest consumer for Automobiles leaving behind US, Japan and Korea.
- When the host (Siddarth) was interviewing the Ford official about Ecosport pricing, the official uttered the word premium many a time.
- This lead me to suspect if they would price Ecosport a bit higher ?

Exactly what I feel too. The officials are using the word premium and aspirational too much, they do it whenever they get the chance - seriously, they are over-doing it. It worries me that this car could be priced silly.

[el lobo 6061]

Ford EcoSport launch postponed to 2013.

If you are planning to buy the Ford EcoSport, you will have to wait till the New Year (2013) because contrary to earlier expectations of a 2012 launch. Ford will likely launch the EcoSport in India during January 2013.

The Ford EcoSport will be a sub-four meter SUV and hence, will qualify for the small car excise duty sops just like the Premier Rio and the upcoming Mahindra mini Xylo. Hence, expect the pricing of EcoSport to be really aggressive and may start at around Rs. 6 lakh for the base variant.

The interiors of the EcoSport have a dashboard layout similar to the one in the Fiesta sedan. Noteworthy features expected in the EcoSport includes hill launch assist, a smart start (engine start button), steering mounted controls, ABS, ESP, Traction control, Bluetooth connectivity and voice activated controls.

The EcoSport has two rows of seats that can accommodate five passengers. The boot space is 346 litres which is comparable to those offered in compact sedans. With the rear seat folder, the boot space is 560 litres. Ford also offers 60:40 rear split seats adding flexibility in carrying luggage.

The EcoSport will be powered by a 1-litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine that puts out 118.4 bhp (120 PS) of power and 170 Nm of torque. The diesel version may have a 1.5-litre motor borrowed from the Fiesta diesel sedan.

The EcoSport is expected to have a stiff competition in the form of Renault Duster 5-seater SUV which is expected to hit the market in October 2012. Unlike the EcoSport, the Duster is not a sub-four meter SUV and hence will not be qualified as a small car as per government standards. Hence, the Duster could be significantly pricier than the EcoSport.

Source:Link

[vij]

I remember the top officials were so reluctant to say that the car is sub 4m. They just kept saying that they will not compromise on the practicality of the car to make it sub 4m. Does that mean they will not pass on the benefits. Time will tell.

[sumeshmani]

I hope Duster and EcoSport are launched by Jan-2013. That will give us consumers choice and competitive pricing. Like me, a lot of Indian consumers are waiting for a good 5-seater, with respectable boot space. Combining that with the aspiration of owning a SUV is the compact-SUV. The only thing that will make this dream come true for us is affordable pricing. Let’s hope for the best and live out all the speculations till the actual launches.

[2cents]

Thing is, it has to be (just) below 4 - you can live with a cramped boot/rear seat at least with the satisfaction that you saved some dough. Or over 4.15 - live it full size if you have to pay the additional duty. I doubt it is going to be neither. From the 'not so clear' spec data so far, it appears to be between 4 and 4.1 (excluding spare wheel).

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by parrys;2632777: More pictures [URL="http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/auto-expo-2012/113657-ford-ecosport-preview-auto-expo-2012-a-5.html#post2633510"

in this post[/url].

Looks more of a bloated hatch and the tyre on the rear hatch is simply out of place for such a small vehicle, reminds me of such mods done on WagonR (see the wacky mods thread)

[zulfi hansi]

End of the day it is positioned as a lifestyle vehicle, stylish and high tech, so it cannot be priced low, and Ford by all means will try to price it alongside with the new Fiesta and may be a little lower but not more than the Fiesta, could be almost the same. Even the variants will be matched equally with the new fiesta. Size will not determine its price, even if it is under 4 meters, the excise benefit will go to Ford and not the customer.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Looks more of a bloated hatch and the tyre on the rear hatch is simply out of place for such a small vehicle, reminds me of such mods done on WagonR (see the wacky mods thread)

I also thought the same until I saw the VW Crossfox in Brazil. This is VW Fox made like a MUV with the spare wheel on the hatch door. It actually looked good.

The Ecosport looks good in flesh and if Ford prices it sensibly, it will sell in good volumes.