NEW DELHI:
Ford
India has cut the prices of its
EcoSport
SUV by over Rs 1lakh to take on Maruti Suzuki’s newly-launched Vitara Brezza mini off-roader.
Ford has been struggling to maintain a robust demand for the EcoSport in the wake of rising competition and a sluggish market. It hopes that the price cut will attract more buyers and boost demand. Prices on diesel variants have come down by Rs 1.1 lakh. Ford has reduced the entry price to Rs 7.3 lakh from the Rs 8.4 lakh earlier (both ex-showroom Delhi) as over 80% of demand in the category is for diesel variants. Maruti Suzuki has only launched a diesel version of the Vitara Brezza and at Rs 6.99 lakh it is cheaper than EcoSport.
Ford and companies such as Renault which sells the Duster SUV, have been worried by Maruti’s strong price positioning in this category. “We want to be a market leader,” Maruti MD & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa had said, while launching the Vitara Brezza on Tuesday.
Ford did admit to competitive pressures for its price cut decision. “With enhanced competitive edge across the entire Ford EcoSport petrol and diesel lineup, we are happy to extend the joy of owning the compact SUV to many more customers and welcome them to the Ford family,” sales and marketing director Anurag Mehrotra said.
After a strong opening post its launch in mid-2013, demand for EcoSport gradually slipped. Volumes have been in the negative in the current financial year as Ford sold 35,698 units in the April-February period against 48,307 units in the same period previous fiscal, a decline of 26%, Siam data showed.