Re: Is Ford's comeback to India just hype? There's a slim chance of return for Ford in India. I asked 2 different dealers who are affiliated with the PPS group (PPS had Ford in their stables for a strong while till they pulled the plug.) and they all said "Ford is returning."
Dealer A said "not sure" when asked about a timeline but Dealer B said "atleast 2 years". Now, in those 2 years, can they bring products in that would work? I doubt it considering how many new vehicles show up from the Big 3 in Hyundai, Suzuki and Mahindra. Wave after wave of launches.
Plus their dealer network would be significantly thinner now that Ex Ford dealers have gone on to sell other cars. And in a podcast by Autocar India, Hormazd mentioned that Ford isn't looking at "mass market" anymore and honestly, it sounds like a terrible idea. Imagine parking cars in your showroom that nobody beyond a select few can afford. Plus the ecosystem around that platform and ancillary parts would be equally expensive if CBU is the way.
Honestly, this is the game-plan I want out of Ford India.
1. Cut your losses, compete with Mahindra and Tata instead of MS and Hyundai's low-tier offerings. That golden goose will never lay an egg for you and it's time to admit that.
2. Offer a wide range of options. Indians love choice, just ask Tata and Kia.
2.1. Here are my choices to bring to India after checking out Ford's global portfolio. All of these platforms have strong possibilities to be localised and some of them like the Focus and Kuga are at the end of their global lifecycle and can be decomissioned to be assembled in Chennai. Michigan, Cologne, Genk and Valencia wouldn't mind that.
-> Puma as a rival in the Sonet-Nexon weight class
-> Focus estate to compete in the Curvv/Basalt class (who wouldn't love a station wagon?)
-> Kuga/Escape to compete in the XUV700 zone.
-> Bronco Sport for the Thar/Jimny faithful.
-> Territory to compete in the Ertiga/Carens class
2.2 Offer all engines and gearboxes. As much as I want TDCi back, Diesel's days are numbered. More brands are looking to walk away from it and CAFE norms with BS7 will mean more diesels that we love will start going away. Ford has to assess this closer incase they want to bring Diesels in India again. Otherwise, turbo-petrols and Hybrids are the way ahead. Some engines I want to see in India are:-
-> 1.2L i3 NA Petrol (candidate for Hybridization)
-> 1.5L i4 Turbo-Petrol
-> 1.5L i4 Turbo-Diesel (subject to market conditions)
Also, take a page out of the Korean playbook and offer gearbox options. A six speed manual is good but offer the 7 speed DCT. A CVT sounds good but I don't know if it's available globally. Offer AWD as an option in all cars.
2.3 "No more nice guy". Ford's "family wala feeling" makes for good PR and it should be followed but they need to get serious about culling improper dealers and service points. And they need to take the Indian consumer more seriously. We're not bargain bin. We are aspirational now. The Koreans know that and that is why they are succeeding big-time here. Take customer critique more seriously and be flexible. If the market makes your product obsolete, then do something quick and don't wait for someone to be your knight in shining armor. Adapt, React, Overcome.
3. Offer ALL features. For a long time, Sync was offered in patches. Some cars had it and some didn't. This feature parity has to stop. Offering a full suite of features would make consumers feel valued and make Ford India's offering on par with their global counterparts. If that means you have to take a hit somewhere, financially, then take it. That's just an ancillary cost for selling in India.
4. Don't mess up the EV/PHEV. Ford announced a while back that they are going to make a "developing markets" EV platform. It's a good place to start but don't dilute and cut it up because it's a "developing markets" product. Take a measured approach and take Tata.ev's offerings as your benchmark.
5. Spend wisely. Sanand was a "why" because it cost billions to set up a Ford-tier production facility and did the end user really buy a Ford because of that? No. I'm not saying "make it cheap" but spend the money wisely. Consult Mahindra for further doubts and if you're in it to collab with an Indian manufacturer, take them more seriously and do not take them as idiots. They know India better than most.
6. Make Fords that feel like a Ford. Our family has a Gen 1 Figo, Petrol from 2014. It still feels like a peppy little number handling wise. The engine compliments the chassis well. We need that Ford back. We don't need a Ford that's bad in driving dynamics. We need a Ford that has the feel and the reference points that we assign with Ford.
7. Breathe. India is a large market. There's a diversity in opinions and choices. It's all a large bowl of ice-cream. But too much Ice-cream leads to an upset stomach. Similarly, don't crowd your thinking process. Prioritise. Make informed choices. There are ex-Ford owners and current Ford woners who would flock your dealers in a heart-beat. Make things happen. Go further. We know what you can do and rebuilding trust is hard. But if you do good, good will find you. |