With the Joint venture between Ford India and Mahindra Auto being called off, there is a lot of speculations around which is making people think ” Is Ford Shutting Down In India? ” Well as per the company’s statement anything as such is not planned as of now but the rumors itself led to the cancellation of many advance booking of Ford Cars in India. Let us examine the situation in detail and list out some future roadmap for Ford India to survive in the market and prevent the shutting down of Ford India Business.
Causes Of Ford India low success rate:
Well, these are some of the points which I feel can be one of the reasons for the low success rate of Ford Cars in India. Let’s list it out altogether.
Lack of Product Diversification Across Different Price Segments-
If you look at the offerings from Ford India then there are 5 products out there namely Ford Figo, Ford Aspire, Ford Freestyle, Ford Ecosport, and Ford Endeavor. 3 car prices from among these 5 cars start from 7lacs INR to 8Lacs INR, with Ford Ecosport’s price starting from 8.19Lacs ex-showroom Delhi and goes high to 33.81 Lacs for Ford Endeavor. There is a lot of room available to launch new products in the price bracket of 4Lacs to 6Lacs,10Lacs to 15 Lacs, and so on. Ford India must think about utilizing these spaces as well.
Lesser number of Dealership in Semi-Urban Areas-
With the sales chart showing dwindling figures, the company will automatically ponder upon opening new dealerships in lesser-explored cities. Product diversification will automatically lead to more options for customers to choose from, hence will boost the sales figure. More sales mean more cash flow for the company. More cash flow for the company means reduced cycle time to realize the profit which will ultimately lead to a healthy balance sheet for the company. This can certainly help Ford India to focus upon exploring more opportunities in the semi-urban and other areas.
Lack of adequate Corporate Tie-Ups with Banks and Financial Institutions-
Undergoing tie-ups with financial institutions will benefit the company in long term. A proper cost-benefit analysis should be done in this regard to achieve project feasibility in the longer term. Exploring contracts opportunities with Multinational Companies is also a welcome step in this regard.
Branding Strategy-
Ford cars are known for their safety standards but making it alone the USP for selling it is not sufficient in a price-sensitive market like ours. Safety and Fuel Efficiency together should be the advertising strategy to reach the masses.
Future Roadmap to gain Market Share-
It is not that Ford India has not tasted success, Ford India Ecosport is one such example that clearly defines it. Ford India has to focus on what customers want and prepare their needs into the offerings so as to boost maximum sales. The gap in the product pricing offers them a golden opportunity to launch some new products in the Indian Market. For example- Ford Territory, Ford Escort, Ford Edge, etc. Capturing the price bracket of 4 to 6 Lacs can benefit a lot as most of the First Time Car buyers tends to hover around that price bracket. Bringing segment-first technologies in their offering can also become a USP for Ford India to garner more sales. With all these ideas put together under expert’s advice, Ford India can definitely replicate the success it wishes to achieve.