Ford India unveiled the iconic Mustang in India just before the 2016 Auto Expo and had the beast on display at the biennial event.
Ford India unveiled the iconic Mustang in India just before the 2016 Auto Expo and had the beast on display at the biennial event. The company has launched an all new line up since mid last year and therefore had the youngest lineup of cars here at the event. We spoke to Mr. Anurag Mehrotra, Executive Director, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India on his plans forward with the brand new line up on sale in India. Read our conversation with him below.
Q) What is Ford’s present market share as off today?
A) We would be about 3.3 percent of the market.
Q) Will you be retailing the parts on your website?
A) I would love to go back and take a look at that if it is possible. It happens in the US and is definitely worth looking at.
Q) All the effort that is being going into the sales and services what kind of growth are you expecting?
A) I wont answer that but our ambition is very high but I have to do it in a profitable manner. If you go back and look at Ford we get something called our statements profitable growth for all so for us those are very operative words. So profitable growth is very important. So what is going to drive us is volume but at the same time I have to ensure it is done in a profitable manner. For that I need to have high levels of localisation I need to have phenomenal customer experience, I need to have network without exception.
Q) What is the localisation level for the Endeavour? Will it be localised in the future?
A) It is a CKD, so it will be sub 20 percent. Future localisation is a constant endeavour (no pun intended).
Q) Now since you’ll are getting the Mustang, are there similar plans for your pickup trucks as well?
A) We honestly have looked at that but the current market has pickups at price points where it will be very difficult to get a product in. We continue to assess light commercial vehicles which is a market that is growing very fast. But who knows in future if we are able to come up with something we definitely would like to look at that.
Q) What’s your take on the current diesel engine capacity norms in Delhi?
A) My only request and submission is as business we just need stability and predictability of policy. Whichever way it is please decide and tell us so that we can plan accordingly. I think uncertainty is what makes business anxious. Just give us certainty and predictability, whichever way. Making a product takes 5 years and a policy change in the middle or towards a the launch doesn’t really help.
Q) What is the percentage of automatics sold in the Aspire and the Figo?
A) The sales share of automatics is around in single digits, say 4-8 percent.
Q) Is the Mondeo coming in?
A) There is a lot coming in from Ford, but I don’t know if the Mondeo is included or not.
Q) So its been long since you have introduced the sub assembly parts strategy. Somehow Ford has not been aggressive in promoting this fact. Why the delay?
A) Correct. We are probably too busy engineering cars so we forgot about communication. We have not done a great job of it and we need to make sure the world knows our story better than otherwise. It is a myth that needs to be busted.
Q) Was the lower cost of ownership strategy based on customer feedback?
A) I think two things drove us. I have not heard of anywhere in the world where cost of ownership plays an important role in a car purchase. I mean in India it so cost sensitive that it is unbelievable. As we are getting into segments that are far more competitive with the Figo and so on it is very quickly you realise that the segment purchase is driven by cost of ownership. So we have made sure that the feedback goes right down to the engineering level which also makes better business sense than fixing the problem at the customer level that is with the pricing.
Q) What would be the one-liner that you would tell a customer that Ford has the lowest cost of ownership?
A) The way I do it is like this. I would like to ask the customers using a different make ‘What do you think you are spending right now?’ So I have made sure that I use this, because sometime when you make it closer to them instead of giving global gyan and tell them something which is relatable the chances of them believing is going to be higher.
Q) How many service networks are there in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities?
A) About two-third of it. So about 111 out of the 208 dealerships are in tier 2 and tier 3 and that’s not going to change. Infact now what we are starting is a extended sales and service outlet which are smaller format. The outlets will have sales of 7-8 cars and repair orders of 2 cars a day and it is profitable. So it makes tremendous sense for people who stay in such cities. And by the end of this year half of my network will be that.
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