Sales up 40%-India sales triple
Aprl 1 NEW YORK (AP) — Auto maker Ford Motor Co. said Thursday its unit sales in India more than tripled in March, helped by popularity of its new low-cost Ford Figo.
Ford said it booked more than 10,000 orders for the car, which became available in March. The company said Ford India will launch a second production shift at its plant in Chennai to keep up with demand.
Ford sold 9,478 total units in March in India. The Ford Ikon, Ford Fiesta and Ford Endeavour models also were popular sellers.
Ford has said the compact Figo, for now on sale only in India, will be exported to other Asian countries.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said he expects a third of global car sales to come from Asia in 20 years. This means Ford has a lot of catching up to do in Asia. Ford has about 15 percent market share in North America, 10 percent in Europe and just 2 percent in Asia.