Ford India's domestic sales declines, exports up due to GST

Ford India's domestic sales declined and exports surged a month before the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1.

Ford India's combined domestic wholesales and exports in June,however, witnessed a surge and reached 20,828 vehicles, from 19,754 vehicles in the corresponding month last year.

While domestic wholesales of June came down to 6,149 vehicles as against 9,469 units in 2016, exports grew to 14,679 vehicles compared to 10,285 units in June of last year.

"Leading up to the biggest tax reform, the month of June saw moderated wholesales as the industry looked to protect itself from the possible impact. However, GST is a step in the right direction, and expected to strengthen economic growth," said Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, Ford India.

Continuing to stimulate demand with its pre-owned business vertical, Ford Assured, the company announced the milestone of owning 200 Showroom outlets in India - with Galaxy Ford in Bhopal being the latest in its bandwagon.

Ranked highest among the most popular cars with top resale value, Ford EcoSport was lauded as the 'Most Dependable SUV' in India, according to the J.D. Power 2017 India Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), now in its 10th year.

The study measures problems experienced by owners of 30 to 42 month-old vehicles for 169 different problem symptoms across nine vehicle categories. From the study, Ford EcoSport registered the least problems compared to the industry average, to be ranked highest in the SUV category.

Ford EcoSport was previously ranked highest in the SUV category in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study for two consecutive years. The study measured problems owners experienced with their new vehicle during the first two to six months of ownership.