News from Ford India

It’s been a persistent buzz in the car market for a while. Ford India, say vendor sources, is planning a small car code named B402.

While there are many possible platform options doing the rounds, according to sources in the auto industry, the Ford small car for India is likely to be based on the just-launched Mazda 2 platform.

Auto analysts so far had been wondering whether Ford — which currently does not have a presence in India’s bulge-bracket B-segment — will either use the existing Ikon or Fiesta platforms for a hatchback or tweak the new KA that it is developing jointly with Fiat in Europe.

The new KA is expected to roll out in Europe next year. Fiat has already formally launched its euro small car Fiat 500 which is on the same platform as the new KA. Ford India officials have maintained that there are no plans of bringing the KA to India.

The Mazda2 was formally previewed at the Geneva motor show earlier this year. Auto industry experts have already been speculating that the Mazda 2 will be the platform for a Ford small car in the US.

There have also been speculation that it will strap on new petrol engines spanning 1.3 to 1.5 litre in Europe cranking out anywhere between 75hp to 103hp.

The Mazda 2, when it debuted, got more wows than the Fit/Jazz and if Ford can tweak its engines to suit Indian small car specs, it should be a winner as a hot hatch.
Ford already has both petrol and diesel engines that can be tweaked to enable the hatch to qualify for excise benefits.

There’s a 1.4 litre duratorq (CRDi) diesel engine in the Fiesta and a1.3 litre petrol in the Ikon. Both may be likely probable if Ford decides to build an India-specific car on an existing platform.

The company also has a 1.6 litre diesel duratorq engine as an option for the Fiesta but officials said there are no plans of introducing it right now.

The Mazda2 can be a fairly decent India option and may even be cheaper to develop in India compared to the new KA. Ford India officials have maintained that they are open to all segments in India including the small car. But there have been no firm announcements yet.

Fiat, for its part, has already announced that it’s options for India include the Grande Punto and the Linea in 2008.

Sources, however, say Ford may consider manufacturing the hatchback in low-cost hubs like Russia, Brazil and India and offer the car across markets in different badging options. In the US, for instance, it may be called the Fiesta and there’s no news yet what the name options are for Europe.

In Europe, where it goes on sale this September, the Mazda 2 is available in three petrol options so far. The diesel will follow later.

The entry level TS (with 1.3 litre petrol engine producing 75PS) is available for around Rs 6.8 lakh. The higher power TS which produces more than 80 PS is available around Rs 8 lakh while the topend Sport version which produces more than 100 horses costs just under Rs 9 lakh.

Of course, there are no confirmations yet from the company on whether the Mazda 2 will be the chosen platform for India. But if this much feted hot hatch does come here, it will offer B-segment customers a racy and stylish option.