New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Indian subsidiary of American automobile major Ford Thursday reported an increase of nine percent in its sales for August, including exports at 8,914 units as against 8,172 units sold in the like period of last year.
‘Despite increasing competition and slower industry growth rates, consumers continue to choose the innovative, fuel-efficient, cost-effective vehicles Ford India offers,’ said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India.
According to Boneham, the increase in sales trend would continue in the rest of the year as a result of growing consumer response for the company’s all-new Ford Fiesta model and its bestselling hatchback Figo.
‘With the support from newer vehicles such as the all-new Ford Fiesta, and continued strong demand for the Ford Figo, we are confident this (sales) trend will continue for the rest of this year,’ Boneham said.
The company also exported more than 1,500 Figo cars in the month under review. The car is being exported to 26 markets with eventual targets of shipping the car to 50 countries.
‘It is gratifying to see our Chennai-built Figo achieve sales beyond the 100,000 units sold here in India, as well as great results from export markets as well,’ Boneham added.
The company further reported a sales growth of 40 percent for the current year at 80,332 units sold and exported from January to August as compared to 57,303 units sold during the like period of last year.
The company added that it would continue with its expansion plan for India, which envisages the development of new cars for the market.
‘As part of our aggressive expansion in India, we will continue to develop, build and sell more and more vehicles in India that people want and value,’ Boneham added.
The company recently launched the new model of Fiesta which is the first of eight new vehicles Ford plans to bring to India by mid-decade.
