Ford Figo rollout from Chennai plant on Feb 5th

Having successfully completed the trial production of its first subcompact car-Figo-recently, Ford India is now gearing up to begin its commercial rollout from its Chennai facility on 5th February, 2010. Furthermore, Tamil Nadu’s chief minister M Karunanidhi and deputy chief minister Stalin would inaugurate the plant on Friday, as claimed PTI. It may be recalled that Ford India, which currently rolls out Fiesta, Ikon, Endeavour, had inked an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government last year, under which it would invest an additional Rs. 1,500 crore to expand the M.M.Nagar facility. The investments also involved enhancing making new engines and Figo’s production.
Despite being absent from the high-decibel 2010 Auto Expo, Ford India is gearing up to introduce its first semi-compact car-Figo- by March this year. Based on the Fiesta’s platform, Ford Figo will be built exclusively in India and exported to Asia-Pacific and Africa regions. Ford Figo will be the made for India car and it will be launched in both petrol and diesel engine options which will be specially made by keeping in mind Indian road conditions and traffic. The car will be equipped with a 1.2L Rocam engine (known as Duratec to new buyers) or 1.4L diesel engine (Duratorq). Figo’s 1.2L which is essentially a stripped down unit of Fiesta’s duratec produces 70bhp of peak power at 6250rpm and a maximum torque of 104Nm at 4000rpm. Ford Figo 1.4L diesel engine pumps out 68bhp of peak power at 4000rpm and 160Nm of peak torque at 2000rpm.
The car will come in three variants – base, mid and high end (called platinum). The Titanium variant will have an optional pack (high plus). The 5-door hatchback car will come in seven colours: Diamond white, Panther Black, Moondust Silver, Chille, Sea Grey, Squeeze and Colorad Red. Although the price range of the model has yet not been announced by the company yet, there is a lot of buzz that the model would be available between Rs. 3.5-4.5 lakh (depending on the versions and the variants).
It may be recalled that the Ford Figo model was first unveiled in New Delhi in September this year. To facilitate the manufacturing of this model and also to double its manufacturing capacity to 2 lakh units the company is spending US$500 million on the Chennai plant. A senior company official had earlier indicated that Ford Figo will feature an array of advanced third generation safety features like Dual Front Airbags that offers safety in case of front collision, ABS (Antilock Brake System) with EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution) that enhance the stability of the car and provides more comfortable driving experience. Belt tensioners and Belt Force limiters, Seatbelt warning indicator, Door-ajar warning and many more safety features will be available with Ford Figo.
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