Ford Seeks Growth in India Via Hot SUV Market

Ford Motor Co. has introduced its EcoSport compact SUV in India with aggressive pricing. The company aims to use the country's burgeoning sport-utility segment to boost its 3% share of the Indian passenger vehicle market.

Ford declines to identify its sales goal for the vehicle there.

The entry-level EcoSport with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine will start at 559,000 rupees ($9,300). That's lower than the base price of the model's competitors: the Mahindra Quanto, Suzuki Ertiga and Renault Duster SUVs. The Duster starts at 799,000 rupees ($13,300).

Ford also will offer the EcoSport with its 1-liter EcoBoost gasoline and 1.5-liter diesel engines.

The company predicts India's SUV sales will grow fivefold by 2020. Industrywide deliveries in the segment zoomed 52% to 553,000 units in the fiscal year ended March 31 compared with a 7% decline to 1.89 million units for passenger cars, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Ford invested $142 million to update its assembly plant in Chennai to build the EcoSport. Initial output will be sold locally. But the company plans to eventually use India as an export base for SUVs.