cars news Ford to start a third shift at Chennai plant to ramp up production of the EcoSport

cars news Ford to start a third shift at Chennai plant to ramp up production of the EcoSport

The Ford EcoSport is constantly achieving new landmarks in the Indian market ever since its launch. As the festive season is approaching, the demand of the EcoSport has again increased. In order to keep up with the increasing demand, Ford has decided to ramp up the production of the car. The company also plans to start a third shift at their Chennai plant.

The sporty looking, feature-loaded and aggressively priced car created a huge excitement when launched in 2013. However, the demand for the car increased so much that the waiting period for the delivery of the car increased from three to six months and continues to be around two to four months now.

Vinay Piparsania, Executive Director - Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India, said, “The demand for Ford EcoSport continues to be extremely strong. We have diligently worked with our suppliers to significantly reduce the waiting period for most variants of the Ford EcoSport to meet this demand. With improved availability, we are also planning to introduce a third shift at our Chennai plant to ensure that the Ford EcoSport is available across our showrooms, ahead of the upcoming festive season.” 

Marketed as the compact SUV, the Ford EcoSport became the talk of the town within no time when launched in India. The sub-four-metre vehicle offers a decent package at a competitive price. Ford India sold more than 5,000 units if the EcoSport in July 2014 and a month prior to that.

The EcoSport has been topping the sales chart for Ford and it recently achieved the 1,00,000 sales milestone. The vehicle should help boost the sales further for the manufacturer on the onset of the festive season. Hopefully, with the increase in production of the car, the waiting period should go down and the buyers should also get the delivery without much waiting.

Source: Business Standard

cars news Ford India sales down in September by 2.5 percent

cars news Ford India sales down in September by 2.5 percent

Ford India sold 13,742 vehicles in September including domestic sales and exports. In comparison last year, September, they sold 14,217 vehicles. This drop in sales could be due to the lack of new products except the EcoSport in their portfolio.

The American automotive giant struggled to meet the demand for its crossover – the EcoSport, but it seems like things might change in the coming quarter, as confirmed by senior marketing professional Anurag Mehrotra.

 “Last year we ushered in the festive season with overwhelming customer response to our capable, urban SUV Ford EcoSport. Since then, the EcoSport has remained the most compelling choice for discerning buyers,” said Mehrotra, executive director, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India.

“Now, with improved supplies, we have opened bookings again and significantly shortened our delivery commitments to customers ensuring that they can bring home an EcoSport this festive season”

With the festive season just around the corner, the company has launched the Figo with enhanced exterior and interior. 

It is certain that customers are losing a bit of interest and hopefully with the introduction of the refreshed Figo they might see the numbers rise. The Figo compact sedan is also expected to arrive next year and with that they might just get good numbers.

BMW Z8: car of the week

A concept car built purely as a design exercise to celebrate the gorgeous, late-50s BMW 507...

...caused such a stir at the 1997 Tokyo motor show that the big Bavarian marque had no choice but to make a production version.

The concept was called Z07, and the car it spawned – in limited numbers – was the BMW Z8, which was produced between 2000 and 2003 and given the E52 model code. 5703 Z8s were made and about half of them made their way to the United States.

Penned by Henrik Fisker at BMW’s Designworks, very few changes were needed for the Z07 to go into production as the Z8.

The windscreen was extended upwards and bigger front air dams were fitted. To keep it as faithful to the concept as possible, the designers incorporated clever features such as multi-function instruments, integrated side indicators that were invisible until needed, and modern equipment that was hidden behind interior retractable panels to preserve the simple, vintage-inspired look.

The all-alloy chassis car cost $128,000 and was pulled by a 4.9 litre V8 engine that produced 294kW and 500Nm.The engine was shared by the M5 of the time.

The Z8’s 0-100km/h time was officially 4.7 seconds but quicker times (to 4.2 seconds) have been recorded by various testers. The top speed, as per BMW regulations, was locked off at 249km/h, although when unbridled the feisty little Bimmer could reach 300 clicks.

To make the Z8 more attractive to collectors, all elements of the car were constructed or finished by hand, and a number of custom options were available including non-standard paint and interior treatments.

In 2003, a softer, less sporty version of the Z8 was introduced. It was called the Alpina V8 Roadster and it came with a smaller 4.8 litre V8 engine. Only a five-speed automatic transmission was available in the Alpina, and the car featured softer suspension and softer leather trim than its rawer, race-ready brother. Slightly bigger wheels were fitted and special Alpina gauges and steering wheel were also added.

The Alpina outputs were 280kW and 519Nm but interestingly the top speed was 10km north of the original Z8, at 259km/h. Only 555 Alpinas were built.

Rolls-Royce Phantom II unveil at Geneva show

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II at Geneva shows some nip and tuck.

Facelifts got started with the ultra-rich and now their favourite family car, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, has also been for a bit of surgery.

The Phantom II is revealed at the Geneva show with the first visual tweaks since the $1.1 million loungeroom-on-wheels hit the road in 2003.

But it's the mechanical changes, and a 10 per cent improvement to the car's considerable thirst, which will give potential buyers the permission they need to buy again after the global financial crisis.

The car's CO2 emissions also drop from a nasty 388 grams/kilometre to a less unacceptable 347.

The Phantom II models - sedan, coupe and convertible - now come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, full LED headlights (claimed as a world first), as well as new bumpers and re-styled lights.

Rolls-Royce is part of the BMW Group and that means the Phantom II now gets the all-round camera viewing system first fitted to the 7 Series, as well as updated satnav and adaptive headlamps.

"These cars are timeless in their appeal, but technology moves rapidly and we cannot afford to stand still," says Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

BMW all for diesel

BMW believes the Aussie market will be dominated by diesels.

Australia should have a diesel future within six years.

BMW Australia boss Guenther Seemann believes the local car industry will follow Europe and become 80 per cent diesel, but only if Holden and Ford produce oil-burning Commodores and Falcons.

“If I were CEO of these companies I would develop a diesel V8,” Seemann says.

His comments come after BMW's own sales of diesels hit 33.1 per cent in January as the brand expands its diesel line-up.

Seemann believes diesel will continue to grow because “there is no way down for petrol prices." The other factor in diesel growth, he says, is the advances in performance.

BMW has entered the high-performance, four-wheel-drive fray with its new X5 3.0sd, a twin-turbo version of its six-cylinder diesel.

It is aimed at taking on the sports-orientated diesel four-wheel-drives, including the Audi Q7 V8 TDI, Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI and Range Rover V8 Turbo Diesel.

Though BMW reps concede the new model will take some sales from its current X5 3.0d, they are adamant the new car is crucial to the growth of the X5 and BMW's diesel future.

“X5 business is very important to us,” the product and market planning manager for BMW Australia, David Lederer, says.

“There's potential to grow that business by having a diesel that can get additional incremental sales.”

He says thanks to the fuel efficiency of the diesels now being matched by performance, customers no longer see them as a compromise.

“That's what our figures are showing. Diesel offerings are so good in terms of torque that I don't think people are buying them just because of efficiency. I think people are responding to the torque and dynamism.”

On the road, the new X5 3.0sd is as expected. The strong chassis still stands out and the new engine provides even more of a chance to exploit it.

BMW's solid reputation for building superb powerplants remains intact. The X5 is smooth and has plenty of torque to get the two-tonne four-wheel-drive up to speed.

With 565Nm on tap from 2000 revs, the X5 isn't sluggish to accelerate, but it does lack some of the punch of the Touareg with its 750Nm.

BMW's claimed consumption figure of 8.8 litres for 100km in combined city/country driving was optimistic during our test drive. Over the course of four hours of spirited driving on country roads, we averaged 11.7 litres for 100km.

Given that this is another addition to the X5 range, BMW has kept the model line-up simple with only two variants; a standard 3.0sd and the option of a sports package.

Prices for the entry-level 3.0sd start at $102,800 and the sports package begins at $107,300.

BMW all for diesel

BMW believes the Aussie market will be dominated by diesels.

Australia should have a diesel future within six years.

BMW Australia boss Guenther Seemann believes the local car industry will follow Europe and become 80 per cent diesel, but only if Holden and Ford produce oil-burning Commodores and Falcons.

“If I were CEO of these companies I would develop a diesel V8,” Seemann says.

His comments come after BMW's own sales of diesels hit 33.1 per cent in January as the brand expands its diesel line-up.

Seemann believes diesel will continue to grow because “there is no way down for petrol prices." The other factor in diesel growth, he says, is the advances in performance.

BMW has entered the high-performance, four-wheel-drive fray with its new X5 3.0sd, a twin-turbo version of its six-cylinder diesel.

It is aimed at taking on the sports-orientated diesel four-wheel-drives, including the Audi Q7 V8 TDI, Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI and Range Rover V8 Turbo Diesel.

Though BMW reps concede the new model will take some sales from its current X5 3.0d, they are adamant the new car is crucial to the growth of the X5 and BMW's diesel future.

“X5 business is very important to us,” the product and market planning manager for BMW Australia, David Lederer, says.

“There's potential to grow that business by having a diesel that can get additional incremental sales.”

He says thanks to the fuel efficiency of the diesels now being matched by performance, customers no longer see them as a compromise.

“That's what our figures are showing. Diesel offerings are so good in terms of torque that I don't think people are buying them just because of efficiency. I think people are responding to the torque and dynamism.”

On the road, the new X5 3.0sd is as expected. The strong chassis still stands out and the new engine provides even more of a chance to exploit it.

BMW's solid reputation for building superb powerplants remains intact. The X5 is smooth and has plenty of torque to get the two-tonne four-wheel-drive up to speed.

With 565Nm on tap from 2000 revs, the X5 isn't sluggish to accelerate, but it does lack some of the punch of the Touareg with its 750Nm.

BMW's claimed consumption figure of 8.8 litres for 100km in combined city/country driving was optimistic during our test drive. Over the course of four hours of spirited driving on country roads, we averaged 11.7 litres for 100km.

Given that this is another addition to the X5 range, BMW has kept the model line-up simple with only two variants; a standard 3.0sd and the option of a sports package.

Prices for the entry-level 3.0sd start at $102,800 and the sports package begins at $107,300.

BMW sportscar to be built on Toyota 86 platform

BMW-Toyota joint venture car will see further development of 86/BRZ platform.

Last month it was confirmed Toyota and BMW would collaborate on a new platform that would form the basis of at least one sports car from each of the automakers.

For Toyota, the platform would be used for a new generation of its Supra, a car that has been hinted at by the automaker’s execs for the past several years. For BMW, the case isn’t so clear. A likely option would be the next Z4, although a new generation of the 8-Series could also be a possibility.

According to the latest information from Motor Trend, the new platform will be used for new versions of the Supra and Z4, but it won’t quite be a completely a new platform. Instead, the platform will be a further development of the brilliant rear-wheel-drive design underpinning the Scion FR-S, as well as the Toyota GT 86 sold here in Australia and Subaru BRZ. 

The new Supra and BMW Z4 it will eventually spawn will be bigger cars than the FR-S, with the platform set to be upgraded to handle more power and a greater variety of engines. In fact, the new Supra is tipped to receive a hybrid drivetrain with around 295 kilowatts on tap.

It appears previous reports of the Supra switching to a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive layout are false. The latest word is that it will use a variation of the hybrid system Toyota developed for its 2014 Lexus IS. The system will pair a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor and spin the rear wheels.

While the platform will be a Toyota design, BMW will work on the suspension and fine-tuning of the handling. It’s not clear when BMW plans to launch its next Z4, though the new Toyota Supra is expected in 2017, with a concept version to bow as early as the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show at the end of the year.

In 2007 Toyota rolled out the FT-HS concept, which at the time was said to hint at the design of the automaker's next Supra. It also featured a hybrid drivetrain.