[wheelguy]

* Image for representative purpose only. Image Source

The new offering in the pipeline will be Ford-branded and will use Mahindra’s platform and powertrain options In its recently-announced joint venture, Mahindra and Ford will be introducing three utility vehicles in the Indian market. One among the same will compete in the mid-size SUV segment that has seen a lot of action last year.

The model will be Ford-branded and will rival the likes of some of the best performers such as Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, MG Hector and Tata Harrier among others. All three SUVs will have a common Mahindra platform and powertrain. In addition to this, the companies have planned to focus on the growth of sustainable mobility across emerging markets.

Under the new joint venture signed between the two companies, Ford will offer its distribution network to support the export of Mahindra products as well as its vehicles. Mahindra credits 7 per cent of its total revenue to exports which are shipped to countries including South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Chile among other nations.

At the moment, Mahindra leads the utility vehicles segment in India and the JV will help Ford to establish a new product base, which could be a relief to its low sales.

The duo’s plan to tap into the mid-size SUV segment comes in the light of massive success that was enjoyed by new entrants like Kia and MG. Since its launch, the Kia Seltos has shown impressive sales in the Indian market even though it shares most of its components with its cousin Hyundai Creta, which amidst the tough competition also received a much-needed update.

Source

[ask_017]

Wondering why does this post not evoke any response from fellow members. More than 800 views and no responses. I guess we have heard enough of these alliance/joint product development/bunch of SUVs coming stories.

Ford/Mahindra - please show us the concrete actions being done and not these 'coming up' stories.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by ask_017

Wondering why does this post not evoke any response from fellow members. More than 800 views and no responses..

I assume that the fear is: instead of Mahindra vehilces getting the finnesse of Ford, the Ford vehicles may get the glitches of some of the Mahindra components.

[indivic]

I think this would probably be a Ssangyong Tivoli re-skinned by Ford designers and use the 1.5L engines tuned so as not to compete with Scorpio or XUV300. Mahindra should have spare capacity on their XUV300 line where this would be produced.

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

The new offering in the pipeline will be Ford-branded and will use Mahindra’s platform and powertrain options In its recently-announced joint venture, Mahindra and Ford will be introducing three utility vehicles in the Indian market. One among the same will compete in the mid-size SUV segment that has seen a lot of action last year.

Source

I am still trying to understand why an automaker like Ford would do this.

Ford Escort - through Mahindra was understandable, but beyond that Ikon, Fiesta, Figo, Ecosport have all been giving good numbers to Ford. Unlike Nissan, Renault etc, with their experience in the why would Ford opt for something like this. Please help me understand. For my knowledge, this looks like an easy way to say bye - without saying it.

Guess Fiat did the same route via Tata Motors.

Now looking at this specific story of an SUV around Harrier & Seltos, are they talking about something like Kuga or Escape. Why would they use Mahindra's bus here?

How would this specific offering stay amidst XUV300, it's 7 seater if it is coming out, XUV5OO or maybe the 7 seater new Scorpio as well.

Please help me understand

[fiat_tarun]

This is the same old news that is again being recycled. This is the next generation XUV500 that will also have a Ford version, so I expect this to be a size bigger than the Creta / Seltos. Both companies have said that while the chassis and engines would be shared, the external appearance of both Mahindra and Ford versions will be different and will retain design identities of the respective brands.

Ford has also said they will ensure the FTD nature of all their cars will be retained which is the only part I am skeptical about since dynamics of a car depends a lot on the chassis where we don't know how good or bad the next gen. XUV500 will be.

Originally Posted by peterjim13

I am still trying to understand why an automaker like Ford would do this.
...

This is quite simple. Ford is struggling globally and has bigger problems to solve than their India operations. Prime focus is now on reviving demand in China.

Ford badly needs new products to survive in India. With this JV, they spend half the cost they normally would, get to retain their identity and bring out new products. Since the JV board is controlled by Mahindra, decisions will also be faster rather than waiting in line along with other Ford regions to get approvals from the parent in the US.

Initially I thought all future products would be based on Mahindra's, but with the recent news that the next gen Ecosport is coming to India, it means global Ford platforms can also be brought in.

I hope this works for them and we continue to get more options, as after owning 2 Ford's, I can say their cars are truly great.

[turbo]

Do they then intend to reduce the price of the XUV 300?

Because the XUV 300 sits in a very weird position. It is as big as the Creta on the inside, and the engines are damn good too. Thats why its more expensive than its 4-metre rivals.

Or will they do a Xuv 300 Plus (like the TUV 300 plus)

[wheelguy]

Mahindra & Ford developing 9 SUVs with investment of Rs 4,300 crore. - Link

As a part of the agreement between the two, the JV will initially be going big on producing SUVs for the country. With an investment of Rs 4,300 crore, Mahindra and Ford will be co-developing as many as 9 sports utility vehicles, starting from this year, and the new product launches will be spread across the next six to eight years.

Six products ranging from compact to large SUVs will be shared by both Ford and Mahindra, with the help of rebadging and certain tweaks. However, the remaining three SUVs will be exclusive to the American carmaker’s lineup, and will be used by the company in both India as well as export markets.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by turbo

Do they then intend to reduce the price of the XUV 300?

Because the XUV 300 sits in a very weird position. It is as big as the Creta on the inside, and the engines are damn good too. Thats why its more expensive than its 4-metre rivals.

Or will they do a Xuv 300 Plus (like the TUV 300 plus)

I agree. XUV300 needs a 1.5-2.0 lakh price cut. Mahindra gets all the suty benefits of XUV300 being a sub-4m SUV. Yet they are not passing this on to the customers, they are pricing the XUV300 almost into the mid-size SUV category such as the Nissan Kicks and Renault Duster. This is the reason why such a competent product with great engines has not quite succeeeded.

[Nithesh_M]

I guess the Kuga and the Puma will arrive amongst them.

[volkman10]

New Ford SUVs for India to be designed by Pininfarina.


The first Ford SUV to be jointly developed with Mahindra and designed by Pininfarina will be a Tata Harrier and MG Hector rival.

-New range of Ford SUVs to be designed by Pininfarina
- First Pininfarina-designed Ford SUV will be based on the next-gen XUV500
- Next-gen EcoSport also expected to be designed by Pininfarina

The first model to emerge from the Mahindra-Ford joint venture will be a new C-SUV.
The platform and engines will be shared between what will be the next-gen XUV500 (code: W601) and Ford’s version of the SUV(code: CX757).

This new Ford C-SUV, which will rival the likes of the Tata Harrier and MG Hector and sit above the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, will be the first one to be designed by Pininfarina.

When Ford’s new SUV arrives after the launch of the next-gen XUV500 early next year, it is expected to share its180hp, 2.2-litre diesel and the 190hp, 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engines. The latter has recently made its debut on the second-generation Thar.

Next Products:

Following the launch of the C-SUV will be a smaller B-segment SUV that will directly rival the Creta, Seltos and Nissan Kicks, and will have a length of 4.3m.

The Ford BX745 will be unveiled in the second half of FY22 and share its underpinnings with the upcoming Mahindra XUV400 (S204). Like the C-SUV, the Ford BX745 SUV will also be designed by the Mahindra-owned design house.

A 163hp, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine from Mahindra’s mStallion family and a 123hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine are expected to power both B-SUVs.

While Ford’s current compact SUV is nearing the end of its lifecycle, the next-gen EcoSport (code: BX744) is said to be underdevelopment and is also likely to get design inputs from Pininfarina.
Although a 2021 launch was mooted, this may be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Expect it to carry forward the engines from the soon-to-be-updated current EcoSport, there are more details on that below.

Mahindra -Ford:

Both brands had confirmed that while the new SUVs may share certain mechanical components, they will be unique in design. Whether this means Mahindra’s SUVs will not be designed by Pininfarina is yet to be confirmed.

Before these three new SUVs arrive, the current Ford EcoSport will soon get a Mahindra engine, the 1.2-litre T-GDI engine.

Link

[landcruiser123]

This sounds like a promising partnership. All I wish is that they execute platform and component sharing like Hyundai-Kia rather than Renault-Nissan or VW-Skoda.

All well and good with the new XUV 500 and Creta competitor but where is the next gen EcoSport? It has been awfully long since the current car was launched in 2012-13. Kudos to Ford to keep giving it meaningful updates.

[Vibhav-Van]

This is amazing news. The JV seems to be heading in the right direction.

I was a bit apprehensive about how ford's version of the next-gen XUV will turn out, seeing their lackluster approach towards the Endeavour. Glad to learn about Pininfarina's involvement in the project. This means it won't be a mere badge/sticker job by Ford but something more substantial.

The way I see it - Mahindra's version will be more feature/comfort oriented, while Ford's version might be more purpose/enthusiast oriented. Best of both worlds!
I hope it turns out to be a worthy successor to my Ecosport, in 2025 perhaps.

[saisree]

Good news isn't it. Though I dread to hear on two versions of the same product like Vento - Rapid, Duster - Terrano, Baleno - Glanza. Rather I would like this JV similar to Maruti-Suzuki. MahindraFord delivering one superior product catering to customers who look for features and customers who look for practicality and purpose. This will run the show. This is like, mixing Salman Khan and Amir Khan to give us Shahrukh Khan (Sorry fans?)
Pininfarina's inputs, fingers crossed. They are designing all the new XUV's, TUV's. Still to strike a chord with the urban millennial buyers. No idea on the Pininfarina's inputs on the new Thar. Its more of Jeep.

[CARDEEP]

Ford is planning to introduce Kuga to market. They could announce as Creta competition by end of 1st quarter of 2021.

As per my source, it's been long since Ford announced any car, & they believe this is a good segment to launch a product in.

The engines expected are:
- 1.5 Liter 120 bhp diesel
- 1.2 & 1.5 liter turbo petrols

I'm not sure if these are true statements or speculations in closed (company) circles as there's hardly any test mule seen in India.

Still would like to upgrade to a Ford again, especially the 1.5 liter diesel with more power. FYI my car has now clocked 90k Kms in under 5 years. It was (more or less) parked idle for 3-4 months when lockdown was announced, else I would have been nearing 1 lakhs Kms by now, & that's been more or less an eventless ownership.