[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ecosport

Ford has enough and more bookings to sustain it for the next 1 year at least, even after the cancellations. Once the demand comes down, Ford would bring in discounts, as other companies are doing, and the value seekers would be back.
What is a fair price can only be determined by what people are willing to pay. From the huge backlog of bookings, and the premium some dealers are commanding, I can only guess that the Ecosport is still under-priced by around 50K.

Maybe I am not able to comprehend what you are trying to say, even after reading it for a few times. Ford initially launched the car under-priced, and then after getting bookings which can last for an year they increased the price, and they are not bothered of cancellations. Then they will bring in discounts when demand comes down. Why a company should even think of discount route for an in-demand product?

I have owned a Ford for 10 years, loved every moment of the ownership experience, but still not able to defend this as a positive move. Anyway, I leave it at that.

[ecosport]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Maybe I am not able to comprehend what you are trying to say, even after reading it for a few times.

That is sad, but if you think it is because of the quality of the post, please feel free to report it to the mods.

Ford initially launched the car under-priced, and then after getting bookings which can last for an year they increased the price, and they are not bothered of cancellations.

I said, "even after the cancellations". That means, if you subtract the cancellations, they have enough bookings to sustain them for a year at least. So the number of cancellations, are not that high to bother them now.

Then they will bring in discounts when demand comes down. Why a company should even think of discount route for an in-demand product?

Demand for any product does not stay high for ever. In case it comes down during its lifecycle and fall below how much they can produce, they could go the discount route to increase demand.

I have owned a Ford for 10 years, loved every moment of the ownership experience, but still not able to defend this as a positive move. Anyway, I leave it at that.

I did say that the price hike is unfair to whoever is waiting for the car, but just added that there are some positive take-aways too.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by ecosport

I said, "even after the cancellations". That means, if you subtract the cancellations, they have enough bookings to sustain them for a year at least. So the number of cancellations, are not that high to bother them now.


Demand for any product does not stay high for ever. In case it comes down during its lifecycle and fall below how much they can produce, they could go the discount route to increase demand.

And that will be a wrong pricing strategy for any product and has not worked anywhere. Discount never sustain sales - rather it undermines the trust of the customers. Discounts are always knee-jerk reactions. If Ford is following that - may manufacturers including Ford themselves have tried - then good luck to them.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

There is so such information available over the web yet! Can you please share the details here?

If you write "Duster step up bonanza" in the google window you get this, among other links.

http://www.team-bhp.com/news/renault...e-scala-duster

[Abh1nav]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

If you write "Duster step up bonanza" in the google window you get this, among other links.

Oh this! The StepUp Bonanza ended last Sunday, and the ads given out by Renault about this offer were completely misleading.

Renault promised an upgrade to the higher variant at the cost of the lower variant for the Scala, Pulse and Duster.

However, when I went to the showroom, I was told that this was a "scratch coupon" scheme and I need to SMS the coupon code I get after booking the car, and if I was "lucky", I would be upgraded to the higher variant, else, I would get some assured gifts.

Total waste.

[puchoo]

Fair enough and if thats the case , all the more reason to do away with the cancellation charges since it is not going to make a major difference to them then

Originally Posted by ecosport

I said, "even after the cancellations". That means, if you subtract the cancellations, they have enough bookings to sustain them for a year at least. So the number of cancellations, are not that high to bother them now.

[Prafful_Rathod]

A Good article in livemint about long wait for Ecosport and its pros and cons.

[FONT=&quot]http://www.livemint.com/Companies/p7...the-pedal.html [/FONT]

[ecosport]

Originally Posted by puchoo

Fair enough and if thats the case , all the more reason to do away with the cancellation charges since it is not going to make a major difference to them then

According to Ford customer care executive, there is no cancellation charge. Dealers are still charging it as they are handling the 50K booking amount. Send a mail to Ford, get their response and take it to the dealer when you go for cancellation.

[Jaggu]

I feel this is an absolutely unfair practice that automobile manufacturer follows. I can understand if the price revision is after a year or so and due to input cost spiraling up OR after a model revision upwards. In this particular case where the price increase is just after a month and that too after dropping feature list?! it sounds ridiculous. If i had booked the car i would have just cancelled and walked out, its the chalta hein attitude of Indian customers that has put manufacturer's like Ford on high horse.

Absolutely pathetic move from Ford India.

[puchoo]

I Have not booked an Eco-Sport so this does not effect me but i empathize with everyone facing this , Ford needs to put more pressure on its dealers to behave themselves , this is a hot car and they should be leveraging that , and the fact that it will make a lot of money for the dealerships to get them to tow the line.

We know for a fact that even if consumers walk in with documentation or proof which supports anything contrary to what the dealership is trying to push , thats no guarantee that they wont give you a hard time.

Originally Posted by ecosport

According to Ford customer care executive, there is no cancellation charge. Dealers are still charging it as they are handling the 50K booking amount. Send a mail to Ford, get their response and take it to the dealer when you go for cancellation.

[trtraj]

Read in our forum that the Titanium is get to lose its true keyless entry and push start button.

http://www.team-bhp.com/news/ford-ec...iants-lose-kit

Is it so ?

[ecosport]

Originally Posted by puchoo

I Have not booked an Eco-Sport so this does not effect me but i empathize with everyone facing this , Ford needs to put more pressure on its dealers to behave themselves , this is a hot car and they should be leveraging that , and the fact that it will make a lot of money for the dealerships to get them to tow the line.

We know for a fact that even if consumers walk in with documentation or proof which supports anything contrary to what the dealership is trying to push , thats no guarantee that they wont give you a hard time.

Yes, it is highly deplorable that Ford left us at the mercy of unscrupulous dealers. Ford should have stepped in to reign in the dealers. Instead they let the dealers handle the bookings and allocations independently. Result: Many dealers made out-of-turn allocations for a premium. Some pushed mandatory accessories worth up to 50K. Some pushed mandatory insurance at exorbitant prices. Some took 1L booking advance, and some even asked for full payment upfront. Some took cancellation charges even for pre-bookings.

Ford should have handled it better, but I personally think, Ford was complicit in the crime. I see it as Ford's way of compensating for the long dry season the dealers had been having during the last couple of years.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I feel this is an absolutely unfair practice that automobile manufacturer follows. I can understand if the price revision is after a year or so and due to input cost spiraling up OR after a model revision upwards. In this particular case where the price increase is just after a month and that too after dropping feature list?! it sounds ridiculous. If i had booked the car i would have just cancelled and walked out, its the chalta hein attitude of Indian customers that has put manufacturer's like Ford on high horse.

Absolutely pathetic move from Ford India.

Whatever the official statement from Ford be, the hike seems to have little to do with rising input costs. They are just trying to get the maximum profit out of Ecosport. Not unethical, if you'd ask me, but definitely unfair to those who pre-booked and are waiting, while those with fatter purses and network, bypassed them in the queue.

[puchoo]

The compensation is a hot selling car - quick numbers , and that should be enough for the dealerships - there is no reason for them to pile on to consumers they way they are or for FORD to let slip certain behavior.

Originally Posted by ecosport

Ford should have handled it better, but I personally think, Ford was complicit in the crime. I see it as Ford's way of compensating for the long dry season the dealers had been having during the last couple of years.

[Murugan]

I understand the sentiments of those who have to pay up more for owning their EcoSport and I empathise with them. I would have also been upset with this but I am not sure if I could be considered reasonable if I am upset. I don't know why Ford has increased the cost of the EcoSport so soon after the launch but the fact is that the Indian currency has taken a sudden beating during this period and costs of some products in India are linked to the dollar to some extent. All Indian car manufacturers increase the car cost when the rupee slides and the slide in the last couple of months has been dramatic.

I am not writing this to defend Ford or their action of raising the cost; I am only presenting a similar occurrence in the travel industry.

"Losing currency: Tours turn costly, torment traveller

Travellers returning from international vacation last week had a shock waiting - an additional bill from travel and tour companies.

With the rupee falling to a new low against the dollar, tour packages and other expenses have become expensive by 15-20% for international leisure and business travellers. Many who bought package tours before the dollar appreciated have been forced to shell out the difference on their return..." More at this link - http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...utbound-travel

Here is another article on a similar trend:

"RPT-Rupee crash forces Indian holidaymakers to ditch Italy for Goa
Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:37pm EDT. By Aditi Shah
MUMBAI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's crash has swept away banker Nupur Sood's dream of a holiday in Venice: instead the 35-year-old will settle for cold beers on the beaches of Goa on India's west coast..." More at this link - http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...0GV0LI20130830

Is this a blow for the customer - Yes. Will the tour company lose money from their margin because the dollar appreciated - Yes. Can the tour operator be blamed for the dollar appreciating - No. Is this action fair to the customer - I don't know; the tour operator does not have a choice especially if he is going end up in a loss - they do not offer price protection for the tour and mostly link the cost to the prevailing dollar rates.

Hope I have not hurt anybody by my comment and am definitely willing to change my line of thought if I a wrong.

[ramzsys]

Now, Toyota announces price hike: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...cms?adcode=100

Either they are really hit by the depreciation, or they are grabbing the opportunity.