Ford India opens 28 new dealer facilities in a single day

Even as it is gearing up to make a foray into the compact car segment with the imminent public launch of Figo, Ford India has set a record of sort by opening 28 new dealer facilities across the country in a single day.With this, Ford has now 164 dealership facilities across 97 cities in the country. Out of the 28 new dealership facilities, 14 will offer full 3 S (showroom, sales and service) facilities. Seven of the new facilities are service workshops, providing full line of mechanical services. The remaining are sales showrooms, where visitors can find a full line-up of Ford vehicles.

Out of the 28 new facilities, 13 have come up in Tier III cities. “With this, over 40 per cent of Ford service outlets are now located in secondary markets,’’ says a release quoting Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director.Quick Service, a vehicle servicing process that allows routine service to be performed in less than 90 minutes, will now be available in 45 dealerships across India.

According to Nigel E. Wark, Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Services) at Ford India, all the newly-inaugurated showrooms are Brand@Retail dealerships built according to Ford’s global standard Mr. Wark, on Tuesday, inaugurated a new showroom of MPL Ford at Taramani Road in Chennai. With this, Ford has 10 dealer facilities in Chennai – comprising three showrooms and seven workshops.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Wark said Ford India had tripled its dealer sales consultants from 480 in 2009 to around 1,500 this year. Over 1,700 dealer personnel from 97 cities had been given in-depth training on the soon-to-be-launched Ford Figo, he added.

Ford India said on Tuesday it would launch its compact car in March and was expanding its dealership in the fast-growing market.Roughly three-fourths of cars sold in India are in the compact category that has a length of less than 4 metres. Maruti Suzuki dominates the market with its hatchbacks Alto, Swift, Ritz and the A-Star.

The country is one of the few sweet spots for the automobile sector, with car sales in the first 10 months of 2009/10 climbing about a quarter from a year earlier to 1.22 million units, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed.Ford India, which has about 2 percent market share, has sold 24,186 cars during April-January.

The Figo, which was unveiled in September last year by Ford Chief Executive Alan Mullaly, will be built for the Indian market at its $500 million facility in the southern city of Chennai.Ford India said it opened 28 dealerships on Tuesday, taking its total network in the country to 164 across 97 cities.

Earlier this year General Motors launched the Beat in India, while Volkswagen is set to roll out the Polo in June.Toyota Motor Corp, beset by recall problems globally due to defective components, will offer its compact Etios in India at the end of this year, while Honda Motor Corp’s five-seater family car will be available by 2011.

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Source: Reuters/The Hindu 16/2/2010

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