Ford India cuts production of Figo, Figo Aspire due to poor market demand

It looks like Ford Figo hatchback and Figo Aspire compact sedan have a tough road ahead in India. The American manufacturer might be looking to slash production of both vehicles at its Sanand plant due to poor sales, moneycontrol reported.

The report says the Figo hatchback's sales declined by 60 percent between October 2015 and March 2016, while the Figo Aspire's sales went down 74 percent from its launch in August 2015 and March 2016. Ford India initially targeted 20,000 units of average output for the two models monthly from the Gujarat plant. However, slow sales led to slash in production to 10,800 units a month. Even after the production slash, the plant produces just 6,500 units of Figo and Figo Aspire units combined.

The Gujarat plant is also under pressure with export related delays. Exports of car to European market were slated to begin from early 2016 but not started for unknown reasons. The Gujarat plant currently exports to the Middle East, South Africa and Mexico.

The bread and butter model of Ford India, the EcoSport, faced threat from the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza in the compact SUV segment. Ford slashed prices of the EcoSport by up to Rs. 1.12 lakh shortly after the launch of the Vitara Brezza on March 8.

The upcoming launches are also not expected to make a huge impact in the sales of the company. the only product launch left for 2016 the Mustang sports car, which will not fetch volumes for Ford India.