Ford India has showcased the Ford EcoSport compact SUV in India at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi for its global debut. The version showcased at New Delhi was the concept version and afterwards Ford showcased the production version of Ford EcoSport with all thee feature details and interiors at the Beijing Auto Show in China. As expected earlier, the EcoSport compact SUV / crossover was expected to launch in India in mid 2012, but as per the latest information revealed by a report by Hindustan Times, the EcoSport will be launched in early 2013 in India which is also confirmed by some other media sources as well.
The EcoSport is expected to launched in Brazil around July 2012 and in China in October 2012. The India launch of Ford EcoSport however seems to be pushed to early 2013. As per our expectation, the big reason behind the delay is that Ford India maybe making a special version of EcoSport for India with length under 4 meters. The EcoSport 2012 global model is slightly larger than 4 meter in length but by making some small changes to the design Ford may make it under 4 metes for India which will make a big difference in the excise duty bracket of thee Indian EcoSport. Also to take the benefits of small car excise bracket, Ford will need to equip EcoSport with a smaller displacement diesel engine under 1400 CC which maybe another reason behind the delay.
image – Ford EcoSport 2012 Production Version Official Picture Exteriors
Putting EcoSport in small car excise brackets may turn out to be a big advantage as it will help Ford to price it very aggressively as low as Rs. 6 lakhs which will create a huge excitement among Indian buyers. This will not only attract the sedan buyers towards the compact EcoSport SUV, it will also attract the high end premium hatchback buyers who will get much more space and off-roading capabilities with the sporty Ford compact crossover. The Ford class handling and fuel efficiency of the EcoBoost engine and the dual clutch PowerShift automatic transmission will be some of the unique value propositions for the EcoSport. We hop it comes to Indian roads soon as it is already creating a lot of excitement with the potential buyers and enthusiasts. The Renault Duster is on its way too and is expected to launch before November 2012 and Maruti Suzuki has also announced that they have made their Maruti compact SUV development fast-track.
