The Ford EcoSport facelift, which was recently unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, will be manufactured in India and exported to the US. Furthering the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the American carmaker recently announced the US-spec Ford EcoSport will be manufactured at its facility in Chennai.
Among the most popular compact SUVs in the world, the new Ford Ecosport’s unveil in LA also marked the car’s North American debut where the carmaker is targeting two primary consumer groups with the SUV: “millennials and empty-nesters”.
USA Today, an American daily, said, “EcoSport is going to be made in India and imported into the US,” it said, adding the car will be manufactured in Chennai before it goes on sale in 2018.” Speaking to the newspaper, Michael O’Brien, Ford Marketing Manager for SUVs, said, “We build EcoSport in six locations around the globe. We sell it in 100 markets, and so, just like we make Explorers and export from here into other global markets, we are going to export EcoSport from Asia Pacific, and we are going to sell it here in the US.”
Ford has manufactured the EcoSport in India since 2013. though it is also assembled in Brazil, Thailand, and Russia.
The new model of the Ford EcoSport comes sporting a refurbished front that includes a hexagonal two-slat grille, redone head-lamp cluster, a sportier bumper with a faux skid plate, and larger fog lamps. The Ford EcoSport in the US will be offered with a choice between the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost or a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines. The SUV will also receive both front- and four-wheel drive options.
PTI