U.S. Ford Dealers Begin Sales of India-Made Crossover Model

Last week Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. dealers began selling EcoSport small crossover vehicles imported from Chennai, India.

Ford confirmed the plan more than a year ago. The little car, which shares its platform with the Fiesta subcompact, will compete with such models as the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax and Honda H-RV.

The EcoSport will compete in a segment that expanded 14% to 563,800 units last year, Automotive News points out. Ford has offered the EcoSport worldwide for 15 years. The vehicle currently is made in Brazil, China, India, Thailand, Romania and Russia.

The U.S. model is being offered in four trim levels and the choice of a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive or a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive. A 6-speed automatic transmission is standard in all models.