2015 Ford Mustang to grace roads of India

Guess what new-found “world car” is about to join the ranks of many others which have graced posters in many motorheads’ garages-offices…the 2015 Ford Mustang is going to set the pace all the way to India to undergo a right-hand conversion.  Ford will soon have a car in company with brands such as Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, and several others on the roadways of India.  The only serious question remaining is a question of “when” and another of “hey, is this actually for real?”–because, let’s be honest here; we’ve all swallowed some jagged little pills from the rumor mill for better than half a year now when it comes to Ford Mustang news items.

So while it’s pretty cool to see Ford taking this pony car to the world market, it’ll be another thing to see how the car actually does when it comes to cultural acceptance and actual practicality.  India, bluntly put, isn’t exactly an ideal location or target audience for a car that screams “loud pipes save lives” and requires more than being trapped in traffic for 2 hours in order to enjoy it.

Time will tell, as cliche as it sounds…

Ford’s Mustang may soon scorch Indian roads

Pankaj Doval, TNN | Jan 23, 2014
NEW DELHI: Mustang, the legendary sports car brand from Ford, may well have a date with Indian roads, joining the growing list of fast-paced names making a beeline for the country’s rich.

With the US carmaker set to get in a right-hand drive version of the model by 2015, India appears to be one of the probable markets where it debuts. “We have a lot of fans of the Mustang in India,” Raj Nair, Ford’s global chief of product development, told TOI.

For the first time since the birth of the brand in 1964, Ford will offer the Mustang with a right-hand drive version, opening the roads of many markets that were inaccessible earlier. Apart from India, the United Kingdom and Australia are other key markets where the car looks headed for.

“The right-hand version will enable us to provide the Mustang to a lot of new markets. India sure is a right-hand market,” Nair said, though refusing to confirm its immediate entry. “We cannot speculate on this now.”

Despite steep import duty and lack of adequate infrastructure like good roads, the market for luxury and sports vehicles has been growing in India. Brands like Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati have already set shop in top metros and analysts feel that volumes will only get stronger once the economy picks pace and the retail presence grows.

Currently, only a few hundred of such cars are sold in the market, and this is abysmally low when compared to sales in markets like the US, China and some countries in western Europe.

The entry of Mustang in India is expected to add a lot to the branding of Ford in India, which so far has been selling cars in the mass-volume segment. The association with an aspirational brand will have a positive rub-off effect on the company’s image, officials said.

Ford India has been riding high in the domestic market on the success of its entry SUV, the Eco Sport.

While the Fiesta sedan and the Eco Sport are already part of its global product launches headed for India, the company is likely to drive in a new compact car early next month.

Nair said that Ford’s upcoming plant at Sanand in Gujarat – which is being built with an investment of $1 billion – is on schedule and will start production during the latter part of this year. The company’s current plant at Chennai can produce 2 lakh units annually and the Sanand factory will add an additional 2.4 lakh units to this.

Source:  India Times

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