Interview - Raj Sarkar, VP, Marketing, Ford India

Ford has had quite a roller coaster ride in India. Going by their last three car launches, it is safe enough to say they have taken two steps forward (Figo and EcoSport) and one step back (Fiesta). With a limited car portfolio, that is actually quite impressive for the Blue Oval. This financial year is very crucial for Ford India as they plan to launch three products. Two cars which we can confirm are the Figo Aspire and Figo hatchback, while the jury is out on the third one. Many say it could be the new Endeavour, while others believe Ford has decided to push the envelope and bring the iconic Mustang to India or maybe they will out fox everyone and launch both. We let rumours be rumours as we spoke to Raj Sarkar, Vice President, Marketing, Ford India, and about their upcoming new 4 metre sedan, the Figo Aspire.

There is a perception that Ford cars are expensive to maintain, though in reality they aren't. What are you doing to clear this misunderstanding?

Cost of ownership has been a big focus in the development of the Figo Aspire. We use sub assembly components, which help in bringing down the cost. For example when a large component gets damaged due an accident, the entire assembly doesn't need to be replaced, just that specific damaged part. Therefore, this cuts down on ownership expenses. We also rely on our customers to spread the word on how affordable Ford cars are to live with. It is actually just perceptions because when you speak to Figo and EcoSport owners, you get a complete different story. Also in the last couple of years, we have ensured that our spare parts are priced competitive, our service pricing is transparent and we have increased the availability of parts over the counters. In Delhi, we had a pilot initiative called Tier I Initiation, where we actually go out and help people understand the ownership expenses by breaking these perceptions.

Are these initiatives helping you penetrate Tier II and Tier III cities, where the buyers are a lot more conservative and prefer to go for traditional car manufacturers?

I agree we have a lot of work to do in these cities, but our network expansion has really helped us in this field. The first positive step is to put a big facility in these cities where a customer can come in and have a conversation with us and find out what is the service or ownership cost. Also our outreach plays an important role as well. There are many people out there who are reading newspapers or blogs and doing their research. There are also other aspects of cost of ownership like fuel efficiency and our products are delivering right up there with the top players. So when you will see the figures of the Aspire, once revealed, you will know how much importance we have given to this. From Ford's stand point, fuel efficiency will help break shift the perceptions.

What export plans do you have for the Figo Aspire?

Ford India is expanding its manufacturing presence as we launched a new Sanand plant for Figo Aspire in March and we are building it for domestic market as well as for global. Frankly. it's the whole 'Make in India'. When it comes to Apsire, we haven't really talked about the specifics, but it is designed to cater to both domestic and global market. Also the Sanand facility is one of the most sophisticated facilities in the world as it has 95% automation for precision. This just shows that we are making the highest quality products for India and the global market.

What is the localisation level of the Figo Aspire?

We haven't revealed a specific number on that. We will announce that some time later, but not yet. That said localisation has been a huge point of focus as that is a key element. Building a car here and have high local content ensures that we will have a high value proposition. While we are not discussing it, we know pricing is very important.

Ford had faced a major demand-and-supply issue when the EcoSport was launched. What have you done this time around to ensure that this does not repeat?

On one hand, this shows that your product is resonating strongly, but not great from a consumer's point of view. We are focused to ensure that we deliver a great customer experience. When we come to the Aspire, there has been a lot learnings from the EcoSport experience and at the dealership level where things can be improved and we will be rolling that out. We will announce some really good initiatives soon. Also Sanand facility is totally dedicated to the new products that are coming out. We have the capacity to meet the demands.

It is well know that the Aspire will also come with a dual clutch automatic transmission option. Will this come with the petrol or diesel engine?

The dual clutch automatic transmission will be available in the petrol variant. Though I can't comment on the future, but at this stage we don't have an automatic with the diesel. We know some players are bringing in diesel automatics, so we will watch the response closely, but as of the now we have seen there is a demand for petrol automatics.