Ford small car by end of 2008

The ‘small-is-beautiful-and-profitable’ mantra is catching in India. The latest to join the fray is Ford India.

The car maker is likely to unveil its new small car by the end of 2008. Codenamed B402, Ford’s small car might use its existing Ikon or Fiesta platforms for a hatchback, said industry reports. It is also likely that Ford may tweak the new car model KA which is being developed jointly with Fiat in Europe. However, company officials say that the company has no plans of getting the car that is being jointly produced by Fiat Europe and Ford Europe to India.

It is a known fact that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fiat Europe to produce a new small car in Europe. Whether the company would bring the car to India is something only time would tell.

Reports quoting sources said it was not clear whether the joint platform car will be sold in markets outside Europe. The company had said earlier that the new generation of B-segment vehicles would be only for Europe. However, whether the agreement will be expanded to other markets or not will become clear when Fiat officially launches the vehicle on July 5. The new Ford KA will be officially launched in Europe in 2008.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that if Ford uses an existing model platform, the price of the hatchback could be similar to the Maruti Swift or the Hyundai Getz. If it goes for the new KA, the pricing is expected to be different. The company currently has both petrol and diesel engines that can be tweaked to enable the hatch to qualify for excise benefits, say experts.