Ford Debuts Aspire Small Sedan in India

Ford Motor Co. launched the Figo Aspire small sedan in India today as part of a product blitz to bolster its 3% share of the market.

The sub-4-meter car will compete with the Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent, Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Tata Zest in the B-car market that generates about 350,000 sales annually. Ford expects the compact segment, which includes sub-4-meter cars, to grow to about 1.6 million units by 2018.

The Aspire, with starting price of 491,000 rupees ($7,600), is being produced at Ford's new $1 billion Sanand plant in Gujarat. The car will be offered with such first-in-segment features as dual front airbags and an infotainment system with smartphone interface.

Ford plans to follow the Aspire by a hatchback variant of the Figo this autumn and the Endeavor SUV in early 2016. Both models also will be produced at the Sanand facility. The factory has capacity to make 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per year. Ford plans to export half the plant's output to 50 markets worldwide.