[vb-saan]

It’s pretty simple. They have a choice of fulfilling the waiting list in the (manufacturing) base market, or prioritize exports and enjoy the hefty margins. More than 50% margin (on exports) on the sticker price is indeed huge.
But what they should know is, asking an Ecosport customer to downgrade to an alternate option from Ford is extremely naïve. If I am in the market for an Ecosport, the alternate option should be Duster/Terrano, or a C+ segment sedan like the Vento or City.

I think this One Ford strategy is really impacting the brand’s foothold in the developing markets.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by vb-san

But what they should know is, asking an Ecosport customer to downgrade to an alternate option from Ford is extremely naïve. If I am in the market for an Ecosport, the alternate option should be Duster/Terrano, or a C+ segment sedan like the Vento or City.

Yes - I think it will be a good development for Terrano/Duster - and if they are nimble enough with their promotions at this juncture, they could really reap large numbers before the advent of competition in the segment.
Methinks Ford India goofed up on their projections on the (huge latent) appetite of the Indian for such a car. I don't think they would willfully have got into such a situation which they know can hurt their goodwill among customers.

[swiftnfurious]

I seriously feel that Honda / Hyundai & Maruti are late to the party. Once those comes, Ecosport is going to lose all the steam as I do expect some more price hike to come by then.

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

...As it is, i've heard a lot of Ford owners claiming high maintenance costs, from the Ikon days....

To be honest, from whatever I understand, the maintenance costs have come down quite well and within segment standards. Some of the reasons they could achieve are

1. More child parts leading to lesser cost of repair / replacement
2. Bin sharing with other models (Classic / Figo and Fiesta / Ecosport etc)

Originally Posted by sukiwa

...What about success of Ford Figo?

I would say the success is mediocre. Though they sold some numbers going by Ford's average numbers, it could NOT hold on. Still it is one of the most successful cars from their stable.

[guunbuu]

Looks like Ford is trying to hit multiple birds with one stone

- Reduce the pressure on Ecosport deliveries.
- Force customers to opt for higher/unpopular variants of Ecosport.
- Try to clear the Fiesta stock, and offset the discount on Fiesta by increasing Ecosport prices.
- Increase profits further by defeaturing Ecosport variants.

But unfortunately, it looks like the stone is going fall back on Ford itself. It is a very very fine line they are trying to tread.

IMHO, they should have introduced Ecosport at a price point which was realistic from the start, instead of starting at a low price point and periodically correcting it. They had sufficient room to optimally price the Ecosport, considering their only serious competitor in the segment was the Duster.

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

...To be honest, from whatever I understand, the maintenance costs have come down quite well and within segment standards...

Agreed. My point being that the image of being a 'high maintenance' brand takes a lot of time to be forgotten!

In that context, Ford is not doing themselves any good with this Ecosport marketing fiasco...

[eq24]

I think this is highly immature of Ford, treating prospective customers in such a callous way will hurt their image in the long run.
What needs to be understood by the management is that you do not do business just for the present but for the future. People who will have been miffed by such practices will steer clear from Ford in the future, more so when the reason is pure profiting. I remember in the Maruti Strike days, people knew the reason of the delays and were indeed forgiving of Maruti for making them wait so long, in this case it won't go down so well.
Second and every MBA knows this is that it is always better to retain an existing customer than to make a new one, fat chance since the existing ones will be livid by now.
Third people who booked in say June or July and have no delivery, Ford should reimburse the interest of that booking amount as well? Instead they are cheekily saying to take another car from their portfolio. What a Joke.

Another messed up opportunity Ford. Some people sadly never learn.

[blacksport]

Does this issue even warrant a thread?

The company have a supply limitation (for whatever reason). So they are encouraging buyers to consider their other cars. Who does not do that? In Maruti showrooms, people coming to book Swifts are advised to consider the Ritz for speedy delivery. Unethical?

[anachronix]

Shame on you Ford if this news is true. Either deliver cars on agreed schedule or give the buyers price protection post the promised delivery date.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by blacksport

...The company have a supply limitation (for whatever reason). So they are encouraging buyers to consider their other cars. Who does not do that?...

There is a difference between a genuine supply limitation and an induced limitation. From multiple reports, Ford is prioritizing imports without allocating enough units for domestic sales. Add to it, the commitment by the Ford MD even before the launch that they have made sure they have checks in place to cater to the demand.

I do NOT mind them doing a wrong initial forecast, but they have done NOTHING to ease up the waiting period, yet. I do NOT mind them hiking prices again (much) as it is something every manufacturer does. I do NOT mind them NOT providing a price protection, because most other manufacturers neither give it. So on a fair ground, they still lack ETHICS! I think there is NO other manufacturer who cut the features and added a price hike, resorted to a discounted price after it was reported on a forum.

Originally Posted by blacksport

...In Maruti showrooms, people coming to book Swifts are advised to consider the Ritz for speedy delivery. Unethical?

I do NOT think Maruti customer care ever send an email to any customers asking to buy another model from them (which Ford has done). Again the offer to buy a Ritz instead of Swift is done by the SAs mostly and is a lot more justified as the cars belongs to similar segments and a lot of parts are shared within those.

What is such a similarity between an Ecosport and other models in the line up?

[saket77]

I don't know if the communication is official by Ford, but if it is, the bad message that is being sent across is that probably they do not want to 'SELL' the Ecosport to Indian customers.
Else, what is the problem for Ford, if the customers are willing to wait?

The case is strong that they are more interested in exporting the vehicle since it must be bringing high revenues since our currency has 'rupeed'! (rupeed is a new term to define a free fall - like I rupeed from the stair case, breaking my leg!)

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

There is a difference between a genuine supply limitation and induced limitation. From multiple reports, Ford is prioritizing imports without allocating enough units for domestic sales. Add to it, the commitment by the Ford MD even before the launch that they have made sure they have checks in place to cater to the demand.

I do NOT mind them doing a wrong initial forecast, but they have done NOTHING to ease up the waiting period, yet. I do NOT mind them hiking prices again (much) as it is something every manufacturer does. So on a fair ground, they still lack ETHICS!

There is no evidence that this is an induced limitation. There is no obligation (neither legal nor moral) for the customer to allocate all production to local market. If I am a smart businessman, I would sell my wares at the highest price possible within the legal framework.

I do NOT think Maruti customer care ever send an email to any customers asking to buy another model from them (which Ford has done it). Again the offer to buy a Ritz instead of Swift is done by the SAs mostly and is a lot more justified as the cars belongs to similar segments and a lot of parts are shared within those.

The difference here is that the Maruti SA is in a better position to estimate NOW, but when Ford were taking the bookings, they didn't have the luxury.

The letter sent to the customers (somebody had posted in the forum) was a letter apologizing for the delay, had an estimated delivery time specified, and towards the end of the letter suggests that in case the customer is unwilling to wait, he may actively consider other models in their portfolio or consider cancelling the booking and cancellation charges are waived off. It is NOT, that they asked the customers to cancel, as this thread suggests.

What is such a similarity between an Ecosport and other models in the line up?

Actually I too do not see a similarity. But I have seen people in this thread suggesting cars like Amaze, Vento, City etc to people who cancelled their Ecosport bookings.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by blacksport

There is no evidence that this is an induced limitation...

Below is their last 4 month dispatch numbers for your reference to gauge whether they are at their max capacity or self-induced capacity!

Sep - 6203
Oct - 5113
Nov - 4392
Dec - 3905

And it's a whopping ~40% reduction in the dispatch numbers in 4 months time. Great way to cater to the demand, isn't it?

Reference:: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3339913

Originally Posted by blacksport

...There is no obligation (neither legal nor moral) for the customer to allocate all production to local market. If I am a smart businessman, I would sell my wares at the highest price possible within the legal framework....

Absolutely - fundamentals of business. Atleast, the MD could have kept his mouth shut instead of making tall claims! There is definitely a moral obligation from an MD when he promises prompt delivery to customers; and yes - ONLY if he values his pride & ethics over his mean business intentions. He can definitely learn one or two things from Ratan Tata or Anand Mahindra.

Originally Posted by blacksport

...The difference here is that the Maruti SA is in a better position to estimate NOW, but when Ford were taking the bookings, they didn't have the luxury.....

Seriously?? Were all the bookings made on the first day for Ford to NOT gauge the time frames? Mahindra were able to gauge the demand and close the bookings in couple of days' time and was able to provide a price protection too. Ford could have done the same, if they really wanted to.

Lets also NOT forget that Ford NEVER helped most of the customers in getting the full refund either, leaving those who placed trust on them at the mercy of the dealers; heights of ethics?

Originally Posted by blacksport

...The letter sent to the customers (somebody had posted in the forum) was a letter apologizing for the delay, had an estimated delivery time specified, and towards the end of the letter suggests that in case the customer is unwilling to wait, he may actively consider other models in their portfolio or consider cancelling the booking and cancellation charges are waived off...

They still did this cheap gimmick and tried to woo the customer by offering some discounts (those models which are already running on discounts). That was way too cheap from Ford is all what a lot of members and I are saying.

Some may hail Ford for their generosity, it's a matter of perspective after all.

[mi2n]

Had a first person experience of this issue at Ford, Kolkata yesterday!

We went to book a Black Beat Diesel LT at Speed Chevrolet which went sour mainly due to the fact that the only piece available was an August 2013 manufactured car which the dealer mis-stated to be a December 2013 car. Thanks to T-Bhp's VIN identification thread, the mischief was easily caught and pointed. As the Ford showroom is adjacent and dad wanted to have a look at the Figo D we strolled in.
The missus immediately took a keen interest in the displayed Ecosport. Once we started to ignore the Figo and started fiddling with the Ecosport instead, the sales advisor immediately turned cold, outright refusing to discuss base/top variant prices, warned of a year long wait and restricted choice of colours and impending further price hikes, etc.

I felt, that Ford showrooms should stop displaying the Eco-sport, as in its presence and as rightly pointed out earlier, the other Ford offerings look lack-lusture. Here, Ford lost an impulsive Figo buyer due to the displayed Eco-sport.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by blacksport

The company have a supply limitation (for whatever reason). So they are encouraging buyers to consider their other cars. Who does not do that? In Maruti showrooms, people coming to book Swifts are advised to consider the Ritz for speedy delivery. Unethical?

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I do NOT think Maruti customer care ever send an email to any customers asking to buy another model from them (which Ford has done). Again the offer to buy a Ritz instead of Swift is done by the SAs mostly and is a lot more justified as the cars belongs to similar segments and a lot of parts are shared within those.

In most cases, Maruti dealers advice customers who are coming to book a Swift and they set the expectation very clearly regarding the waiting period. They don't do it 3 months after the customer has booked the car and tell him that the timelines they told earlier are things they cannot honour. Ford is clearly going back on a promise that they gave the customer when he booked the car regarding the delivery date.

In case of Swift and Dzire, the waiting period whether it was 4 months or 9 months was told upfront to the customer before the booking and I don't think they delayed it much further than that promised date. In my case, I got it 2 weeks earlier than their projected 4 months waiting period which was perfectly fine with me. During the waiting period, I got a couple of calls from the dealership regarding the immediate availability of a different colour since another customer cancelled their booking but I chose to wait for my preferences. So most Swift customers had a positive buying experience even if they had to wait for a while.

Its a totally different story if they keep changing their word for their own convenience.

Its got a lot to do with the Japanese and American heritage in value system of these companies. I've interacted with people from different countries across the globe as part of my work and one thing I really like about the Japanese are their commitment to honour their promises - something a lot of Americans seems to care about only if they had promised in writing and a lawsuit might come up in case they don't honour their promise.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vb-san

But what they should know is, asking an Ecosport customer to downgrade to an alternate option from Ford is extremely naïve. If I am in the market for an Ecosport, the alternate option should be Duster/Terrano, or a C+ segment sedan like the Vento or City.

I think this One Ford strategy is really impacting the brand’s foothold in the developing markets.

Originally Posted by blacksport

Does this issue even warrant a thread?

The company have a supply limitation (for whatever reason). So they are encouraging buyers to consider their other cars. Who does not do that? In Maruti showrooms, people coming to book Swifts are advised to consider the Ritz for speedy delivery. Unethical?

Definitely not unethical. If I am in market for swift and am asked to consider the Ritz or Dzire, perfectly acceptable since the price band of all these models is close together and even overlap. But I totally agree with vb-san's point. It would have been ok if they were producing the new Fiesta in large numbers and asked customers who book the EcoSport to look at the Fiesta, that would have been acceptable. But asking a customer to look at the Figo/Classic which is 40-50% cheaper and in a completely different segment or the Endevour which is probably 50-60% more expensive is naive and maybe a little rude also.

The EcoSport was everything I was looking for. I did not mind waiting for even 4-5 months if delivery was guaranteed. Unfortunately that is not the case. From what I have read, the waiting period is vague and keeps changing and on top of that, based on what I have read in this forum, I need to be vocal and consistently follow up, plead, threaten, escalate to get the car in a reasonable time frame. I am paying ~1 million rupees and for that, as a customer, although I don't expect to be treated like a king, I have strong objection to being treated cheaply and with disdain. The 'you want it, you wait, we'll decide when you will get it' attitude.