[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Govt should give me some strong consumer protection laws in return

For starters, let the Indian consumer stop rolling on the floor inviting companies to kick him, and telling that it is just fine that they have done.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Car is NOT an essential comodity, but the tax paying indian should be treated as one. I pay 60% of my salary as direct and indirect tax (dont have a choice). Govt should give me some strong consumer protection laws in return

What consumer protection law are we looking at here? If Ford was compromising on quality, then I fully agree that a consumer protection law would be applicable. In this case, nobody has an issue with the quality of the Ford product. Its just the steep price hike that annoys everyone.

If you are expecting price protection, then the ideal situation which any legal body would look at is what you paid for the product. Nobody is paying the full price of the car upfront while booking. They are only giving 25-50k while booking and remaining amount while taking the delivery of the car. If the cost of raw materials increased in between, it has to be passed on to the customer. You can demand price protection only if you paid the full price while booking the car and the company demands more while delivering it. If you are willing to pay 10L upfront to the dealer and demand price protection during delivery 9 months later, I think he should be able to offer it on his own since the savings interest on that amount for that period should cover most of the hike anyway if it happens.

Every entrepreneur has the right to charge what he thinks is reasonable for the goods and services he offer. Ford doesn't enjoy any monopoly in the Indian auto industry. If a customer feels Ford is overcharging for the product, he has every right to switch to a different brand. If Ford held back the booking amount in case of a cancellation, it would again involve consumer protection but that is not the case here.

Though the practice is not ethically right, there is nothing wrong legally with what Ford is doing now and hence the government cannot do anything about it in this case.

[2000rpm]

I wonder what inspires people to wait for cars for 9-10 months. Especially something like an ecosport, which is not an extraordinary car in any aspect. Plus people should be sure that within 9 months a better car will be surely launched in a segment like the Mini-SUV.

I honestly feel that the Ecosport does not deserve the mini-SUV title, if offers you less than some of the hatches do and at a much higher (and ever increasing) price. Even I loved the car during launch and thought that it was real VFM as compared to the duster but when I saw the car in person, was really disappointed.

The interior space is less than most B-segment cars, apart from the jazz (equipment) offered I think a Ritz is a way better car than ecosport which also helps you save around 4 lakhs (unless you want the spare tyre on the boot for accessability )

[damager21]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

A company with decent management.

A company with decent respect for it's customers. A company that recognises that treating customers well is also profitable in the long run.

A company that cares about its own survival in the market.

People, don't make excuses for Ford. This is a ridiculous situation. No excuses.

Agreed. This entire episode sounds like people have booked a house whose delivery has got postponed due to delay in construction. But unlike a house whose delivery may get delayed but value will appreciate, buying a car and not getting it on time is a loss.

While Ford may encourage Ecosport buyers to buy other vehicles, I think it is ridiculous on their part to even offer such a deal because all their other cars are in different segments and are offered at different price points.

As a consumer who would have booked Ecosport, cancelling my booking today is an opportunity lost because every other Auto maker has increased price of their car. Had I booked some other car 3 months back during Diwali, I would have got it at a lower price + Diwali discount and even delivery by now.

Ford definitely has a lesson or two to learn from Honda and Hyundai. Both launched 2 super hit cars last year viz Amaze and Grand i10. Despite huge order bookings, they have managed to push to the limit and ensured customer satisfaction. Honda even started a 3rd shift to bring down the waiting time.

Increasing price, not offering price protection to existing buyers and delaying delivery is a recipe for disaster. After fulfilling existing orders Ford can forget demand for Ecosport in India and happily continue to focus on Exports. In today's time, a company which is not customer-focused and customer-centric is bound to fail.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by damager21

As a consumer who would have booked Ecosport, cancelling my booking today is an opportunity lost because every other Auto maker has increased price of their car. Had I booked some other car 3 months back during Diwali, I would have got it at a lower price + Diwali discount and even delivery by now.

That is a very valid point for those who have booked the Ecosport at that time. Even if they cancel their bookings now, they would lose in terms of opportunity costs, which is tough to ascertain.

Originally Posted by damager21

Ford definitely has a lesson or two to learn from Honda and Hyundai. Both launched 2 super hit cars last year viz Amaze and Grand i10. Despite huge order bookings, they have managed to push to the limit and ensured customer satisfaction. Honda even started a 3rd shift to bring down the waiting time.

We can safely term this fiasco as an opportunity lost by Ford to capture substantial market share in India. India is one of the most profitable markets for car makers from west, hence they have been trying hard to snatch some market share from the Japanese and Korean brands. Ford, in this case had got everything right in the first attempt but probably have now lost this opportunity by taking some ridiculous steps.

Competitors, in this case have nothing to do to, as Ford's management is probably competing against its own company. After all, it is very difficult to kill a person who is hell bent on committing a suicide!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by zenren

What consumer protection law are we looking at here?

Probably none, because to make sheer bad behaviour illegal would be difficult. The "punishment," if any, could only come through loss of sales. Currently, enough people want this car to let Ford, and their dealers, get away with all this stuff with impunity. Cancellation? Sure sir... a hundred people waiting for the same vehicle, no problem, bye sir...

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

... not an extraordinary car in any aspect.

It's the first of its kind, at least here. it's unique. It may fail various tests that any particular buyer sets for it, because they want something bigger, something more spacious, etc etc etc, which just mean that that individual should be looking at another car. For what it is, it is unique, and you can't get much more extraordinary than that.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ford's ruthless profiteering on this product borders on 'sharp practice'. I do not appreciate that level of greed. 'Statist', I believe you said. I would rather that it is considered as 'consumer protection from super-sized-avarice'!

I agree with you - it doesn't just "border on sharp practice", it is sharp practice. But if you are investing 6 months or more income on something, do your due diligence. Don't expect the government to protect you, that too in a manner which is not provided for in any law.

[rajneeesh]

When I started this thread, I could never have imagined that Ford India will do an encore and go in for a further price rise. Heck Construction companies ( not too liked) have better ethics. Once you have booked an apartment, you pay the same price even if the company increases the price for the future customers. Moreover, you even get a late possession penalty .

With this move, the Ford management is sending a clear message, " We care a damn for the India customer. We will keep jacking prices and diverting the production to export markets. You can go ahead and cancel your booking".

It will take a big magic trick to make me even consider a Ford India product again!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Looking on the bright side, ecosports may well be coming on the second-hand market while people are still waiting for delivery of new ones.

[mxx]

Let us assume the price hike was inevitable, still I consider the practice of enforcing the price hike on customer who has already done booking is a sharp practice. Especially when the delay to deliver the car is a problem of the manufacturer.

BTW, in Indian market, sharp practices are not sole propreitory of Ford. The above said case is same with all manufacturer. And more notorious was Renault with Duster - "world's cheapest SUV" is sold at a premium in India, with regular price hikes- despite the fact that it is manufactured and exported from here.

As long as the customers don't protest this will go on. From what we see, baring a few, most customers do not have any problem with how they are treated by manufacturers and dealers.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Looking on the bright side, ecosports may well be coming on the second-hand market while people are still waiting for delivery of new ones.

And sold at a very good resale value too. Thanks to the frequent moving northward pricing by the company!

[agbenny]

They made a big mistake by launching Fiesta new design with its "real" price and burnt fingers with poor response due to a price and at the end they had to compete with Jetta, Corolla etc.

This experience made them to think another way. Use a cheap price as a bait. Make people to wait, and show them the "real" price later. This is certainly an unacceptable marketing practice.

Now this car is going to compete with Innova, XUV, Scorpio etc.

I voted for this car for the smart pricing assuming Ford was ready for 'low margin -high volume' strategy, I wish I could take my vote back and vote for i10grande.

[zenren]

The biggest question that a customer should ask themselves and the sales people at Ford is regarding what Ford achieved by making a sub-4m SUV.

With the price hikes, the tax benefits are already out of the window as far as a customer is concerned. Why in the world should I buy a mini-SUV at the price of the full size SUV? The whole exercise that Ford did to bring this under 4m is no longer justified.

May be Tata should promote Safari now with price comparison to these compact SUVs. They did the "more car per car" slogan for Indica against the Marutis. Given the current market conditions, the same applies for the Safari Storme against the Ecosport and Duster.

[oxyzen]

It is a competitive market. I believe it is okey for anyone to hike the price by any amount. You don't like it, you don't buy it. However those who have booked earlier should not be charged more/penalized. If that is not the case, there should not be any cancellation fee and they should pay the interest for the booking amount.
This should have been done by our Great government to stop companies from exploiting us. Instead all they worry about is getting more income tax from the helpless salaried people. Bottomline we get screwed up from both ends.

[sam003]

Other than just price, they are not even delivering Ecoboost. My Friend booked it at the time of launch itself (Ecoboost Top end model) in 2013, last week he received an email from Dealer saying delivery may go beyond 2014. What are they talking about, waiting for petrol so called ECo Boost for 1.5 year