Ford dealers ask EcoSport customers to shift bookings

With bookings of India's top selling mini sports utility vehicle (SUV) EcoSport still closed and deliveries getting stretched to up to eight months helpless Ford dealers are asking customers to either cancel bookings or switch to any of the other four models the company offers.

Ford India, subsidiary of the US auto giant, stopped undertaking bookings for the EcoSport for eight of the ten variants offered since August, as demand outpaced supply from the time the model was introduced in June last year.   

The company, which produces the mini SUV in Chennai, is unable to speed up production due to crunch in supply of parts, which it sources from component manufacturers. The unprecedented demand for the vehicle has pushed Ford and its suppliers on the back foot.

"From six months, the waiting period on my EcoSport has gone up to ten months. Now the dealer is hard-selling the Figo in place of the EcoSport. I would rather cancel my booking", said a city-based person who booked the mini SUV last year.  

Presently only the diesel variant of the EcoSport is open for bookings while the two petrol models (1.5 and 1 litre) are out of reach. The vehicle starts under Rs 620,000 for the 1.5 litre petrol engine, at Rs 738,859 for the 1.5 litre diesel and Rs 850,849 for the 1 litre petrol, all prices ex-showroom Delhi.

Sources said that Ford dealers are formally communicating to the EcoSport customers if they wish to switch to a Ford Figo or a Fiesta as the waiting period on the mini SUV has increased.

Dealers get a few 'allocated units' from the vehicle manufacturer in the event of unassumed demand boost for the model.

A mail sent to Ford India went unanswered at the time of going to press.

Several buyers who had lined up for the EcoSport have either gone for the recently launched Hyundai Grand i10 or the Honda Amaze. The waiting period on these models are less than a month.

According to sources Ford India has a order backlog of over 30,000 units for the EcoSport. At this production rate it will take around seven or eight months for the company to clear the backlog before restarting bookings. Already more than 33,000 units of the EcoSport are running on Indian roads.

While domestic demand has hit the roof Ford India has not gone slow on exports. As per the Society of Indian Automobile data, one in every five units of the SUV produced is exported. Of the 45,727 odd units of the mini SUV produced till December, Ford exported 9,647 units.   

The company has increased the price of the EcoSport twice since launch and is today 11 per cent more than its introduction price, in the space of less than seven months. The vehicle was launched at Rs 559,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).