Ford Motor Co., plans to use low-cost engineering it learned in India to develop compact models for other emerging markets, executives said, emulating a strategy used by Asian rivals that outsell it in the world’s fifth-largest auto market, reports Reuters. Ford aims to expand market share from the current 3% with its first India-specific small car, the budget Figo Aspire, tagged at a starting price of $7,557. The fuel-efficient engine built for the Aspire will also be fitted into other vehicles Ford plans to export to Africa and Southeast Asia.
Compact cars, are key to the growth of automakers: global sales of such cars are expected to rise by more than a third to 11.4 million by 2020, according to IHS Automotive, and India is expected to become the world’s third-largest market by 2020, when sales of compact cars are expected to double to around 1.73 million.
