Ford India, the Indian subsidiary of the American automobile major Ford is planning to export its upcoming compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), the India-made EcoSport to the European car market. Commenting on the company’s plans, Mr. Joginder Singh President and Managing Director Ford India stated that the carmaker already has export operations for the Figo hatchback from India to 38 countries, with the exception of Europe.
The EcoSport compact SUV will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Chennai and is planned to be launched in June 2013. The company claims that the new sub-4 meter car model will not be charged with excess excise duty announced for SUVs as part of the new Budget 2013-14.
The American automaker plans to make India a major export hub for global markets. It plans to set up a second manufacturing plant at Sanand (Gujarat) by the end of 2014 which will have a total manufacturing capacity of 4,40,000 car units and 6,10,000 engine units. Mr. Singh states that about 40 percent of the engines assembled in India and 25 percent of cars manufactured will be exported from India to other global markets.