The Ford Motor is likely to announce its new small car Ford B517 for the Indian market on Wednesday. Earlier Ford’s sell their marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors just ahead of the global turndown. This timely sale helped Ford weather the recession without government aid.
The Wheels Unplugged says the new small car has been codenamed Ford B517 is expected to be launched in March next year. This is part of Ford Motor’s plans to integrate car designs globally and develop compact and mid-sized cars to help improve profitability and productivity.
It has been told that To be built at its Chennai facility, the new car will come in petrol and diesel versions of 1.2 litre and 1.5 litre engine capacity respectively to satisfy the Indian government’s definition of a small car. The car would have 85 per cent local content, and the company is in talks with Tata Steel for better steel prices with the increased volumes, according to the report.
Ford officials seem to be playing it low key with no detailed announcement.