Ford's newly launched EcoSport SUV has reportedly received more than 14,000 bookings in less than two weeks.
The Financial Express, citing a source close to the development of EcoSport, said the American auto major has received more than 14,000 orders for EcoSport in India, and this number is likely to cross 17,000 by this Friday.
"By last Friday, bookings for the EcoSport had touched 14,000. By now, this would have crossed 17,000. A new count will be taken by Friday," a source told to the Financial Express.
The report also stated that due to higher demand for the diesel version of EcoSport, some dealers across the country have also stopped taking orders. The greater demand for the vehicle in the sub-continent will push the company to extend the waiting period for customers.
The vehicle which was launched in the country on 26 June is expected to be a game-changer for Ford in the auto market. By pricing it low, Ford is directly posed a challenge to current auto market leaders like Maruti and Hyundai along with Renault Duster, Mahindra Quanto and Premier Rio. The car comes with a starting price of ₹5.59 lakh.
Under the hood, EcoSport comes with 1.5L petrol, 1.5L diesel and the 1.0L EcoBoost engine. The 1.5L petrol engine is expected to give 112 PS power and 140 Nm torque. It comes in both manual and automatic transmissions. The manual transmission model gives a mileage of 15.8 kmpl, while the automatic model is expects to deliver 15.6 kmpl. The revolutionary EcoBoost EcoSport engine churns out a power of 125 PS and 170 Nm torque along with a mileage of 18.9 kmpl. The diesel variant of EcoSport is the most fuel-efficient among all models and is expected to give a mileage of 22.7 kmpl.
"We have had an overwhelming response and are now consolidating the order list. This is quite high and unprecedented for us at Ford," said Vinay Piparsania, executive director for marketing, sales and service, Ford India.
Meanwhile, Ford India is recalling its EcoSport diesel models in India due to the problems with the glow plug module. The recall of newly launched vehicle is likely to hurt the sentiments of prospective buyers in the country.
