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-   -   Ford India opens 28 new dealerships in 24 cities in a single day today !! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/75614-ford-india-opens-28-new-dealerships-24-cities-single-day-today.html)

Ford seems to be taking the small car challenge very seriously. Just before the Figo hits the market next month, Ford has gone all out and opened 28 new dealer facilities in 24 cities across India today. The break up of the new 28 outlets would be:

• 14 full facility outlets (Showroom, Sales and Service)
• 7 only service workshops
• 7 only sales showrooms

This takes the total number of Ford dealerships in the country to 164. The important thing to note here is that most of these outlets are being opened in smaller cities apart from the usual Metros. Ford wants the Figo to reach out to these markets where small cars rule the roost. Ford has also opened a new showroom in the East Delhi Metro Station. This is the first Ford showroom in a Metro Station in Asia Pacific.

All the outlets will offer various packages like Total Maintenance, Extended Warranties, Road Side Assistance and Scheduled Service Plans. Ford is also offering Quick Service where your car's routine service is completed in 90 minutes. Quick service is currently available at 45 dealerships across the country.

I attended the opening of one such outlet this morning at Thane near Mumbai and happened to meet up with Mr. Sandip Sanyal who is the Executive Director Operations, Ford India and had a chat with him on the upcoming Figo and Ford's future plans for India. Some of the highlights from the conversation:

• The first Figo has rolled off the Chennai plant on Feb 5th. Launch expected 2nd week of March.
• Ford is expecting the Figo to capture a substantial share of the small car market. Expect a really competitive price is what Mr Sanyal said.
• The engine facility at Chennai will be producing 1,30,000 engines per year(petrol & diesel combined). These will also be exported to other countries across Asia Pacific. South Africa is also included in this list.
• Similarly, India will be the hub for Figo exports to other countries. Though he did not name any specific country, he was quick to add that South Africa is confirmed as of now.
• An AT Figo could be a possibility in the future if Ford sees a market for it after the car settles in. We have the technology ready is what Mr. Sanyal said.
• 85% localisation in the Figo from day 1.
  
  Mr Sandip Sanyal speaking to the media
  
  
  

Quick Service... now thats one thing i sorely missed!

A routine service used to takes hours on my car, with the oh-so-busy service centers. Since the dealership was far away from my place, going back home and then returning was a bother, and so i stayed put at the dealer. imagine having to wait from 10 in the morning till 4PM to take the car back home. All this, after prodding from me at regular intervals to please get the thing done on time.

So, any new dealers in Bangalore?

Way to go Ford! Also expecting VW and Nissan to follow suit.Good to see a Ford showroom coming up in Durgapur!(Banerjee Ford)

Wow, that's a lot of new outlets! I hope the workshops are staffed with competent people & not the hit & miss variety of workers that one comes across occasionally! And I wonder if the "quick service" of 90 minutes includes the waiting time - I would think not, given our usual experience these days!

Dippy, did you by any chance get any information on the new sedan launch from Ford that a lot of "birdies" are talking about:D?

Initiative to be applauded - definitely shows their committment.

Detail listing, of the new dealerships and service centres, in this thread, will be helpful to members.

Dippy the roving reporter strikes again! Did you get a chance to ask any questions? When is the new Fiesta coming?

I see that that there is no change in the duopoly structure in Chennai. It's the same old MPL and that's not good news for me. I was hoping to get a new dealership/service center from a different business entity.

Nope. No new dealers in Bangalore

No. Mr Sanyal would not talk about anything but the Figo really :)

Excerpts from my conversation with Mr. Sandip Sanyal in my post above. No news of the new Fiesta just yet.

Good to see their expansion plans. what are those cities they opened new shop?

Apart from the Metros, the other cities would be Salem, Durgapur, Guwahati, Haldwani, Mehsana, Vijaywada, Sangur, Gwalior, Bilsapur, Warangal, Vellore, Malappuram to name a few.

All these dealerships open today.

Awesome! Ford India seems to be going full steam. All the best to them.

Thanks for the info Dippy.
Finally Ford India has put forward the right foot!!
I hope they launch some good "Maintenance Plans", similar to Chevy, to gain customers confidence in owning a Ford.

Ford looking really aggressive for FIGO's launch.

Hope the new service setups are upto the mark & the quick service works as promised.

It is good news indeed for Ford car owners and new buyers.
Interesting to see which all places these new showroom rather service centre /workshop coming up!

Good to see that they are expanding to smaller towns. This may help them to promote FIGO better. But I still doubt the future of FIGO in India, something around 1-1.5K sales per month is sure not more.

Sheesh!!! Why cant FIAT comeup with some move like this? This surely helps for the 2nd and 3rd tier cities to have a showroom within 50Kms of their home. I remember the only and Early Ford showroom's for a small town like HOSUR was either 350Kms south-east to coimbatore, or 330Kms East to Chennai/Madras.Of course if you wanted a KA Regn car - Blore was only 40Kms to North.