Queue pushes EcoSport buyers to rivals

Only two of the ten variants are presently on sale

Not willing to wait indefinitely for the Ford EcoSport, of which only two of the 10 variants are at present on sale, buyers are instead settling for premium hatchbacks, a segment that has recently seen some launches.

Unable to keep production in line with demand, Ford India, subsidiary of the US automobiles giant, stopped taking bookings for the compact sports utility vehicle, launched in late June, last month.

The EcoSport has become the most popular product for Ford in India, garnering bookings in excess of 50,000 units in just 50 days. With the rest of the car sector facing one of its worst periods in recent years, EcoSport is bucking the trend. Ford is producing 6,700-7,000 EcoSports every month, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

“I wished to buy the EcoSport but dealers are not accepting bookings. I don't wish to wait for four months that too for the diesel variant. The Hyundai Grand i10 and the Nissan Micra is what we have thus shortlisted,” said Deepak Jadhav, a 31-year-old media professional, in Mumbai.

Prospective buyers of EcoSport are hence booking hatchbacks and sedans such as Hyundai’s Grand i10, Maruti Suzuki’s Stingray, Nissan’s new Micra and Honda’s Amaze. Renault Duster, the prime competitor of EcoSport, has also seen a surge in bookings in the past few weeks.

Currently, only the entry and middle variant of the diesel EcoSport are on sale, that too with a promise of delivery in December or January. The two top-end diesel and the remaining six petrol variants are out of bounds for buyers. There is no official word on reopening of bookings of EcoSport from the dealer or the company. All other car and SUV models are available off-the-shelf.

“We are continuing to work with our suppliers to ramp up production of the EcoSport. Due to an extended waiting period on certain variants we had decided to stop bookings on those variants,” an official from Ford India said.

Rakesh Srivastava, Vice President (Sales & Marketing) at Hyundai Motor India, said,”The response for the Grand i10 is very encouraging though we are in the initial stages of the launch.”

Hyundai Motor India, the country's second largest car company, has taken the Grand i10 to all major centers of the country from the start instead of lauching it in phases. Priced closer to the Grand i10 at Rs 4,09,999 (ex-showroom Delhi), Maruti Suzuki’s Stingray has attracted buyers, too.

The five-seater Duster, formerly the largest selling urban SUV in India from French car ginat Renault, has seen bookings go up over the past two-three weeks, a top company executive said.

Compared to demand in August with sales of 2,967 units, also the worst month for the model in 12 months, demand for Duster “has seen a rising trend”, said Sumit Sawhney, executive director (marketing and sales), Renault India. Duster bookings were at 20,000 in the first three months after its launch.

Earlier this month, Ford had raised the prices of all variants of EcoSport by Rs 30,000-40,000. The starting price of the SUV at present is Rs 5.82 lakh against the launch price of Rs 5.59 lakh, while the top-end variant is priced at Rs 9.37 lakh (all ex-showroom, Delhi)

Demand for new vehicles is expected to drop for 15 days starting later this week with the beginning of Shraadh, an inauspicious period in the Hindu calendar for new purchases.

HIGH DEMAND

* No bookings taken for petrol models of the Ford EcoSport

* EcoSport sees bookings of more 50,000 units in two months

* Renault Duster had seen bookings of 20,000 units in three months after launch

* Renault Duster sales had fallen to a 12-month low in August