Is There a Figo in your Future

Only if you live in India as Ford unveils its latest small car for the subcontinent

Small cars and gas prices

It’s no secret that many of us here at LotPro.com are big fans of small cars. Especially after spending two weeks in Italy last summer, we were left with the question, “Why does Europe and Asia get all the great little cars while here in the U.S. they are just an afterthought?”

The answer, of course, is the price of gasoline. Last summer when gas prices spiked at over $4 per gallon, car buyers flocked to dealer showrooms to purchase Focuses, Civics and Priuses. This year, with gasoline selling at or near $2.50 a gallon for most of the summer, sales of small cars have, once again returned to normal levels (except for the brief blip caused by “Cash for Clunkers”).

But just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, once the current worldwide recession begins to fade in the rearview mirror, gas prices will once again rise and, this time, could easily top last summer’s high.

Ford and India

To that end, we would like to introduce Ford Motor Company’s latest small car that will not make it over to the U.S. Dubbed the Figo (Italian slang for “cool”), the company’s latest entry in the subcompact B-segment is based on the same architecture that underpins the Fiesta. According to Ford, it will be built at the company’s Chennali plant in India (located on the country’s southeast coast).

Underscoring the importance of the new model that includes a $500 million investment in assembly plant renovations and upgrades, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally was in Delhi, India, as the exterior was unveiled earlier today.

“Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India,” Mulally said. “It reflects our commitment to compete with great products in all segments of this car market. We are confident the Ford Figo will be a product that Indian consumers really want and value.”

Commitment, indeed. Just like many other emerging vehicle markets, the small car segment in India represents nearly 70% of the market. Tapping into this vast pool of consumers is vital to Ford’s long-term viability.

Is it really cool?

Comparing the Figo to other Indian vehicles in its segment, it is, indeed, cool. Basing its design on the company’s “Kinetic” language that spawned such vehicles as the Mondeo, the Focus and the new Fiesta, Ford chose to tone down some of the curves found on those vehicles in order to make the Figo a more efficient people mover.

Although its snout still displays the signature oversize lower air intake found on the Fiesta, the Figo’s greenhouse is more upright with larger windows. At the rear, the rounded curves of the Fiesta have been supplanted with C-pillars that are closer to the vertical, more like the previous-generation Fiesta. With the Figo, style needs to take a bit of a back seat to utility.

“We’re confident that the new Ford Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian car buyers,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India. “It’s going to be very competitive with the current market leaders and offer a tremendous value story for our consumers. We believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume player in India.”

Tags: chennali india, Ford, ford fiesta, ford figo, ford focus, ford india, ford motor company, india