Re: 2015 Ford Mustang - Leaked! Edit : Now officially revealed. Quote:
Originally Posted by stanjohn123 Though I would love it if Ford sold the mustang at your prices it is highly unlikely due to our import duty structures. Also since the engines are all above 300Bhp and will be imported as CBU (most likely) my price figures are close.
The price I mentioned is the OTR price for their top end V8 model which seems fair considering that it's supposed to be competing with another car in the same price range which is the Nissan 370z sold at 68 lakhs OTR in bangalore.
Also the Mustang will be Fords Halo car here in India unlike in US where it is sold as an affordable mass market sports car. Ford will definitely not expect huge sale of this model in India but they should still bring it here for enthusiasts like us and this will also help in boosting their image.
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Alas you may be correct in re to pricing. However, even Halo cars are of no use if you don't spot them on the road. Nissan lost the ticket with the 370Z; if they had managed to price it at 40-50 lacs on road (not an impossible task considering that pricing is still 1.5-2 times the market value in other countries), it would have sold decent numbers and may have truly made Nissan an aspirational brand in India. Most of India has no clue what the 370Z even is.
For Ford too this kind of pricing strategy will be a shot in the foot. They desperately need the Focus and Mondeo in the market. You make the Mustang an accessible lifestyle car, price it in a reasonable manner, launch the Mondeo and the Focus in this country and their fortunes may just change overnight! Get the pricing wrong and again 95% of India won't even know what a Mustang is. The entire point of a halo car is visibility. If its too common it doesn't help. If its too rare it won't help. If Ford treat this launch as a Hail Mary instead of an Ephedrine shot they'll lose their way again.
Ford is never going to make money with the kind of business model the premium and luxury manufacturers follow in India. Even the Japs are struggling in the premium segments. Skoda and VW are soon going to have negligent Octavia, Jetta, Superb and Passat sales. The Teana, Accord and Camry never took off. How many people would buy an Elantra or Corolla over the Octavia? Each passing year makes the three big Germans more and more expensive.
The markets really can not sustain this for very long. The average Indian customer is slowly maturing and if Ford comes in with first mover advantage of a quality car at a reasonable price (price everything on par with UK) then they will very quickly start making some serious dough in this country.
Last edited by imp! : 23rd August 2014 at 12:13.
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