[ajmat]

Interesting article on Fords lost sales here

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by ecosport

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.

Let me put forth a hypothetical situation. Mr. X had booked an EcoSport Titanium diesel on the 10th of August. And suddenly, he comes to understand that:

- Ford has increased the price of the car without warning.

- Ford has removed two important features that Mr. X was looking forward to having in his car.

- Ford is unsure of the delivery date and in all probability, would not honour the date given by them at the time of booking.

- Ford will take away a small amount if Mr. X presses for cancellation of the order.

I see nothing that's fair here. What would've been fair:

- Offer price protection for those who'd booked the car before the 10th of September.

- Get in touch with customers who'd booked the Titanium variant and explain to them that they wouldn't be getting the two features. Upgrade them to the Titanium O variant for a nominal amount if they're not happy.

- Give them a delivery date that they can honour.

- Don't enforce cancellation charges on those who had booked the car a week prior to the announcement of the price-hike but retain it for June / July / August bookings.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Let me put forth a hypothetical situation. Mr. X had booked an EcoSport Titanium diesel on the 10th of August. And suddenly, he comes to understand that:

From what I understand every car maker clearly mentions that the price may vary on the date of delivery and that price would be the one applicable. Again they also mention that some features shown might not be part of the final car and the decision to do so would be binding on the customer. So how is Ford wrong in all this? Regarding the date of delivery, once again the customer himself knows that the media is going crazy telling about x number of bookings and x number of months waiting. He still books the car knowing very well that he would have to wait.
All in all Ford is at the right side of things legally.

[ecosport]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Interesting article on Fords lost sales here

Looks like Ford have shot themselves in their foot by pricing the car low first and then hiking it. The cancellations are not going to hurt them in the short term, but they sure seems to have mopped up some bad publicity. Public memory is short, so Ford better reclaim what is lost before the demand for the car dries up.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Let me put forth a hypothetical situation. Mr. X had booked an EcoSport Titanium diesel on the 10th of August. And suddenly, he comes to understand that:

- Ford has increased the price of the car without warning.

- Ford has removed two important features that Mr. X was looking forward to having in his car.

- Ford is unsure of the delivery date and in all probability, would not honour the date given by them at the time of booking.

- Ford will take away a small amount if Mr. X presses for cancellation of the order.

I see nothing that's fair here. What would've been fair:

- Offer price protection for those who'd booked the car before the 10th of September.

- Get in touch with customers who'd booked the Titanium variant and explain to them that they wouldn't be getting the two features. Upgrade them to the Titanium O variant for a nominal amount if they're not happy.

- Give them a delivery date that they can honour.

- Don't enforce cancellation charges on those who had booked the car a week prior to the announcement of the price-hike but retain it for June / July / August bookings.

"the price hike is unfair to whoever is waiting for the car". This was what I had wrote earlier. I didn't write a page, but in a line, I have said the same thing you said, right?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

All in all Ford is at the right side of things legally.

And that's precisely the reason why I didn't start my post with "Ford has been indulging in nefarious, illicit and illegal activities."

But that doesn't make it fair now, does it?

Sure, there are disclaimers and pages of fine-print that one ought to go through before shelling-out 11 lakhs on a car. But if you honestly believe that hiking the price and lobbing off equipment without due notice is 'fair' and 'okay', especially for those who've been twiddling their toes and waiting to take delivery, then this thread seems increasingly redundant.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

All in all Ford is at the right side of things legally.

I don't think anyone is arguing whether Ford is right legally or not. We all agree that Ford is on the legal side of the things.

As the thread title states is it a sharp (cunning) / unfair practice?

Ethically they are not doing the right thing. Why I say ethically because it should not be a matter of selling cars. One needs to have brand building / PR.

All manufacturers have a PR team that project an image of the brand. These practices are what affect the brand image and inturn the product. As you can see the news has spread like wildfire and noone is saying any good things. Negative brand publicity.

So basically you build the hype around the Ecosport for more than a year and spend on marketing and all the hoopla. Once launched people stampede to the showroom for bookings.

They have to put up with ride showroom staff, long queues for TD, no delivery date and what not. The excitement has already come down. But anyways you wait for a few months thinking it will be worth it. Then Ford calmly announces price hike and removes 2 features. The early adopters who put their trust by booking the car are left high and dry. Pay the new price, lose features or take refund after cancellation charges. Leaves a bitter pill to follow. What happens to the brand image that was build up over the year?

They did not have to do much actually. First option would have been to give price protection to the people who booked within 7 days of launch or 15 days of launch. Second option would have been to remove cancellation charges and refund the full money for those who cannot swallow the price hike.

Both of the above options with a nice press note would have resulted in this thread title being "Kudos to Ford" instead of "Ford is being unfair"

That would have cemented the brand image. Instead their act of high handedness has resulted in negative publicity.

[rlvl]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

From what I understand every car maker clearly mentions that the price may vary on the date of delivery and that price would be the one applicable. Again they also mention that some features shown might not be part of the final car and the decision to do so would be binding on the customer. So how is Ford wrong in all this? Regarding the date of delivery, once again the customer himself knows that the media is going crazy telling about x number of bookings and x number of months waiting. He still books the car knowing very well that he would have to wait.
All in all Ford is at the right side of things legally.

Yep! I would agree. Ford is legally (and financially) correct in taking the decision.

It would be "nice" of them to let customers get their booking amount back without the penalty. But then they chose not to do so.
The customer still has a choice to walk away from the car.

[puchoo]

Its not about the law - Ford is on the right side , what we are talking about is goodwill and ethics. There are 2 ways that Ford could have reacted to this situation - either hand held all those who booked their cars and kept updating them , kept in touch and offered whatever assistance they could have required or what they have done - which is to levy a cancellation charge on it.

And even on the legal side i see a grey area - if Ford is saying there are no cancellation charges , and the dealers are taking the money - then something is amiss. The same for the case of the "mandatory" accessories

Originally Posted by drmohitg

All in all Ford is at the right side of things legally.

[Prafful_Rathod]

Originally Posted by Murugan

All Indian car manufacturers increase the car cost when the rupee slides and the slide in the last couple of months has been dramatic.

Generally it does not always happen so. Most of the manufacturer take periodic reasonable price hikes of say for eg. once in a quarter if there is reasonable demand for their products otherwise this period may extend. This gives them a window to cover up for increase in input cost and any other fluctuations to an extent. All the major players in India have by now high localisation on most of their brands. So currency volatility effect is relatively lower compared to other industries like tourism. Also in this highly price competitive market, the supply chain management has gathered more importance in Auto industry then ever before, rate negotiation for raw materials is more intense. Hence the extent of price hike (23K - 43K) just because of currency fluctuation is something not easily justifiable. It would have been more prudent for Ford to say that the launch price was just introductory price or limited period price and now this is the actual price.

[k_ajay]

I really don't get the point of this thread. I agree when features already claimed for a variant/model are being stripped with no resultant changes in price is WRONG, but increasing price is a unfair/sharp practice?

Come on. Which manufacture hasn't done it? Everyone does, to offset increase in input costs. Ford has done this to offset the drop in rupee value and plus for other reasons.. Mahindra has done it with XUV5OO (and you can go see what the launch prices were and the prices now, variant to variant), Renault has done it with the Duster, Skoda has done it with the YETI.. Toyota just is going to? So, when will the threads for debating the price rice and sharp practices of these manufacturers will be up??

A lot of manufacturers have gone this route before so it's surprising only Ford is being brought up for debate. And almost every car dealer's pricing sheet and booking form mentions clearly prices at the time of delivery will prevail. If that isn't acceptable or legal, it should be brought up prior to booking or even without it, rather than when closer to or waiting for taking delivery.

[D'Artagnan]

Why are prices being hiked when the market is at an all time low?

Costs of raw material such as steel has greatly depreciated. Being in the steel industry, we are selling billets at a lower price so that our buyers can make some money and thereby we sustain ourselves by allowing both of us to stay in the market. This way of cannibalism is certainly not acceptable, companies are taking advantage of the situation and increasing their prices. Let alone the Indian govt which is at an all time low is still not stepping up to protect the common man. The press around the world mock us and our governance. Salaries are low thanks to people making an excuse saying "economy is bad, expect no raise".

Sorry for going off topic and the short rant.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle5093685.ece

The ecosport hike should have been given with price protection. 40k is a lot of money probably the money spent for traveling 10k kms or more. Ford and other manufacturers are playing the dice without the slightest concern over the people who will be using their product.

[shivasuma]

It is definitely unfair and unethical of Ford to increase the price and then delete 2 features & the dealers charging cancellation fees. I , for example, might have booked the titanium variant looking at those features and then Ford not only increases the price but strips the variant of those 2 features. Then it is no more the complete product (from my perspective) that I was looking for. Ford should ideally refund the entire amount. Well, no matter what our opinion is, Ford still has a lot of customers for the Ecosport and hence it will not do anything about it until a competitor comes up. And I hope it comes soon.

[ecosport]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

companies are taking advantage of the situation and increasing their prices.

Nothing wrong with that. It is a free market. Sellers price their products according to the value that they are providing. It is not a simple formula like: input cost + 10% profit = selling price. As customers it is not our job to worry about what their input cost is, just worry about whether we am getting enough "value" from it.

Coming to government, regulating prices of automobiles is not their job. Governments should stay away from meddling in free markets.

ps: The above argument does not take away the fact that Ford managed this whole affair shoddily.

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

......, Ford still has a lot of customers for the Ecosport and hence it will not do anything about it until a competitor comes up. And I hope it comes soon.

I hope the same too. We should start seeing some options in 2014 surely (Honda, Hyundai?) and definitely spoilt for choice in 2015/2016 with respect to compact SUVs.

Until then, Ford and Renault might (unfortunately) continue to dominate with their offerings.

[JayKis]

Now that the Rupee is back to 61 will ford reduce the prices for the ecosport?