We need to develop a better foothold in India: Nigel Harris

Interview with President, Ford India

With barely two per cent of Indian passenger vehicle market share, global auto major Ford has been making efforts to grow in the country. In June, Ford India’s domestic dispatches declined 33 per cent in an otherwise growing market. Nigel Harris, president of Ford India, tells Ajay Modi that the declining trend will see a reversal from this month itself. Excerpts:

You plan is to launch a new Figo and Endeavour, in addition to the Figo Aspire you launched on Wednesday. How will these impact your market share?

It is a substantial lift for us. With a billion-dollar investment we made in Sanand, we want to be doing good volumes. We’re going to have a very modern and relatively new product line-up. I’m expecting a substantial increase. The Sanand plant has a capacity of 240,000 units. We can balance domestic versus export demand. At the beginning, it will be more skewed towards India, which is becoming more important. We need to develop a better foothold in the domestic market. Ford’s attention on India is high. India will drive the growth that we need in the long term.

Your domestic volume has been on a decline for some time. When will that trend reverse?

This month itself. EcoSport is doing 3,700-4,000 units a month, three times of Renault’s Duster. There is no deep discounting on EcoSport. Many knew we are coming with Aspire. So, naturally, for many of our products like the Classic and the Figo, demand has been coming down.

You have been heading India operations since early 2014. What are some of the key realisations?

We have some of the most demanding customers here. For many parts of the world a car is a commodity. In India, a car to an individual is an investment, a bit of prestige and also the dinner discussion. Indians are very passionate about their cars. So, they push very hard for good treatment. We are learning more about that all the time. If give people a good product with value proposition and look after them, they will be loyal.

Does Ford find it a challenge to keep dealers motivated since volume has been falling? Also, only one product does well for you at a given point of time — first it was the Figo and then EcoSport...

I agree with the second point. But that was true until today (Wednesday). Now, we will have many more products. We don’t push stocks to the dealers and then discount them. We have one of the best relationships with dealers. We communicate with them regularly; we support and train them. They can contact me on any issue. Our dealers are the most trusted group you will ever come across.

Does it make economic sense for Ford India to have operations at two locations with the kind of volumes you are doing?

It makes sense. Both operations will run at full capacity. At Chennai, we are running three shifts. Operations at Sanand have just started. We will ramp up production.

When do you expect the India operation to turn profitable?

It is going to turn profitable. It won’t be in the immediate future due to the investments we made in Sanand. But there is a plan. You will see profitability for sure.

What is the extent of localisation Ford has achieved in India?

I can’t give a figure. If someone claims he is doing 93 per cent localisation, it is only at the level of tier-I suppliers. It does not factor in what tier-II and III suppliers are importing and selling to tier-I. We have competitive levels of localisation for the Aspire and for the EcoSport as well.