The Ecosport’s platform architecture could be upgraded to conceive a Hyundai Creta rival from Mahindra and could also help in bringing higher volumes.
Ford and Mahindra had recently joined hands for a strategic alliance that would see both the brands working closely for future sustainability and mutually benefiting each other in some of the key aspects of manufacturing, distribution, new product development and electric mobility solutions. Ford has been streamlining its operations globally and is aiming to achieve more efficiency with increased profitability.
The first product to come out of this partnership will be a mid-sized SUV. Mahindra is due to launch the next-generation of the XUV500 next year and that, we anticipate, will be a huge departure from the current generation. The same platform will also underpin Ford’s C-segment SUV and it wouldn’t be just an exchange of badges.
Ford and Mahindra, both will have will have distinctive cars for themselves from the same platform with only selective parts being shared between each other. Ford’s C-SUV will likely have a name starting with ‘E’, as is traditionally the case. The company’s Asia Pacific division in Australia will play an integral part in its development.
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These new SUV’s are expected to be powered by an all new 2.0L, diesel engine with manual and automatic gearbox options. Last October, both the brands had also agreed upon a pact about Mahindra developing a low-displacement petrol engine that would be BS-VI compliant for use in Ford’s upcoming cars from next year.
Mahindra is currently working on finalizing two deals with Ford. One of them concerns using Aspire’s platform for a Mahindra badged EV and the other on using Ford’s B-platform. The latter is more important to us as the B-platform used by EcoSport could continue to underpin models in the near future.
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The architecture could be upgraded to conceive a Hyundai Creta rival from Mahindra and could also help in bringing higher volumes, building on the success of the XUV300. It could be used in the next generation EcoSport or on a Ford SUV, which is expected to be positioned slightly higher up the segment along the lines of the Creta.
