[shazikon]

looks like a Fusion with new headlamps and the new ford bumper treatment!

[MAS]

Originally Posted by shazikon

looks like a Fusion with new headlamps and the new ford bumper treatment!

Yes, it does look like a Fusion in the photos. But in flesh, it is smaller and shorter than a Fusion. There is a difference in the ground clearance of both the cars; Figo-170 mm; Fusion-195mm. This affects the stance in flesh.

[nickatnite]

The FIGO looks like a lot of car for the money. Hope Ford times the release well and gets the pricing right.

[harishnair]

The Figo might be lacking the drool factor but if priced between 4-6L it does seem to be a good family hatch.

[anachronix]

I was commuting from Perambur to Pallavaram (Chennai) today evening and I came across the usual White, Black, Black convoy of the Figo.

It was just an amazing site, the way the car was being driven around the city traffic on a saturday evening reminded me of the italian job movie

I was the 4th car in the convoy following them right from DMS till the Airport in a Tavera

I got a glimpse of the interior dash lights. It was Orange theme, Tacho from the left, Speedo and then a long & short display panel! Looked nice to my eyes!

The car looked stunning & cute with lights ON, the fog lamps were giving a more aggressive look from the front! A nice car, in my list for sure against the GP come 2010!

I was driving alone, so I couldnt get any pics!

[chennai-indian]

Here is the internal @FORD magazine in PDF format with some nice FIGO pictures as well as articles about Mullaly's visit.

[kiku007]

Guys

Need your help!

What would you do to maximise the sale of Figo?

Am part of a team that can submit a presentation on the above. Your views would really help!

Thanks in advance.

[chennai-indian]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Guys

What would you do to maximise the sale of Figo?

Price it low and provide good A.S.S

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

Price it low and provide good A.S.S

Loads of equipment, low price, good A.S.S and lots of ads. So that's four slides for you already. Not sure what this does to the profitability though.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Guys

Need your help!

What would you do to maximise the sale of Figo?

Am part of a team that can submit a presentation on the above. Your views would really help!

Here's what i think would help to focus on:

1.) Fuel efficiency. They really should play this trump card
2.) Cost of spares and low cost of ownership. I believe they are already trying to point this out to the mases through hoardings at the dealerships.
3.) Fun to drive factor, which all Fords are known for.

[kiku007]

Thanks Guys. We need in terms of marketing the car. Like some of my colleagues suggested,

• Target Tier-II and Tier-III cities where the idea of a frugal and affordable diesel car would strike the right cord!
  • Advertise in regional media
  • Increase Sales and Service presence
• Drive the point that the Figo will be cheaper to maintain. A la Chevy like projected maintanence cost over a period of 3 years?
• A brand ambassodar the target client could associate with. Now who can we associate Figo with?
• My fav one would be to give away Figos free for employees and increase the road presence

[lamborghini]

@Kiku: This car should not only be targetted at Tier II and III cities. You'll should also look at Tier I cities, where the small size will be a boon to owners, given the parking hassles.
Ideally, this car should be sold as a sedan without a boot, not as a hatch with a boot.
You should:
- Concentrate on interior space
For those buyers who like to enjoy the rear seat.

- Ease of maneuvering within the city

- Tried and Tested 1.4 TDCi with amazing FE and perfect driveability in the city.
Appeals to the self driven and money conscious buyers.

- Handling dynamics of Ford cars
For Tier I cities, most buyers will be driving the car on self.

- Maintainance plans and warranties
Suggest Ford to get out Maintainance plans for 3 years/1,00,000kms and 5 years/1,50,000kms. This is one way of assuring the customer that maintaining a Ford won't be more expensive than a Hyundai/Maruti, and that it can be pre-paid for.

Also, If you can advise Ford on their model line-ups, ask them to launch a 1.4 S variant in Petrol (1.4 Dura-tec) and diesel, which would help Ford even get the enthusiasts to buy it given how disappointed they were with the Punto and lack of driver's cars in the market. If there is a 'S' variant launched, I would buy one!
In addition to that, do remind them that this is their break or make variant, and to keep prices constant. In fact, if this is successful, they should launch a sedan variant to replace the Ikon with.

This is how an ad could look:
a person in his 30's getting a phone call from his family who are stranded in the middle of no-where. Depict an Ambassador broken in the middle of the highway, and an old father who is attached to the Ambassador.
When the call comes, this person is just driving out of the showroom in heavy traffic. He rushes (performance and maneuverability) to this place to pick up his family (far away in terms of kms - F.E.). He picks them up, and on the way back, they are in awe of the comfort the car provides.
His family is so impressed with the car, that his father actually goes to the showroom the next day to book another Figo (or fiesta) (This would show attachment to the car like his father had with the ambassador).

All while this is playing, there would be small sentences coming up on the screen as each part is playing, highighting the different aspects of the car. For eg: When the milestone comes up to the destination showing say 200kms, the sentence can say an ARAI tested FE of xx.xx kmpl.

Get what I mean?

P.S.: If you like this, and so do the Ford guys and do this, I would like a Gray Figo S please. Just Kidding.

[rajivn]

@kiku
1. Setup more dealers and service centers (more so in the north). Ford has to double the current numbers.
2. Spares should be cheap and every visit to service center should be cheap.
3. Lots of ads to improve the brand image of Ford. Its neither here nor there kinda image for Ford now.
4. Price it cheap and then gradually raise the price not the otherway round which Ford is known for.

The above will not only help the actual sales of Ford cars (Figo,etc), it will also help in establishing a good resale value for Ford cars which is bad now compared to other leading brands.

I am not talking about the car per se, as I take it for granted that Ford will produce a good/great car. IMO Ford has always produced great cars,but they dont sell to their potential because of the reasons listed above and few other reasons.

Automatic Diesel variant with only 40-60k premium over the Manual one should be a great variant. It can a trendsetter.

[indivic]

My 2 cents

1) Make sure that the cars sold in the first year are glitch free, may be invest in additional QC. Any defects should be proactively fixed FOC - get the goodwill
2) More car per car need not be Tata's USP alone e.g try to offer ABS as a option on the lowest variant as well, in my view the rear defogger and wiper should be standard across the board.
3) If you are targetting the Tier II and Tier III cities/towns, I would suggest that this is done in a real touch and feel manner - offering test drives to SME businessmen and families. Target current Indica and Swift owners.
4) Emphasize that the diesel engine in the Figo is the same as in the Fiesta and Ikon - may be get out some ads like MSIL talking about the engine alone - it should be some real owners talking about the performance, efficiency,ruggedness what not and the marketing spiel could come later in the ad.
5) Include cost of common spares along with a segment comparison as a leaflet along with the brochures

[gvivek75]

+1 to long term maintenance plan. Chevy is a fine example of playing the A.S.S. card right.

Also the service network in smaller cities needs major revamping. Lots of them are still working on the Ford/Mahindra joint setup of yesteryears, and are just not fit to service premium personal cars alongside Utility vehicles, Scorpios belonging to taxi segment or political types.