India-made Ford Ka+ to be discontinued in Europe - Report

17/04/2019 - 15:30 Ford Ka, Ford Yatharth Chauhan

After a short-lived stint of just three years, the India-made Ford Ka+ will exit the European markets, reports Carscoops. It was introduced in September 2016 and quickly given a facelift in just over a year, in February 2018, but the sales have failed to reach the expectations of the Blue Oval.

2018 Ford Ka+ (2018 Ford Figo) and Ford Ka+ Active — Along with the early facelift, Ford experimented even an SUV-inspired Active variant, but nothing seems to have worked.

Finn Thomasen, European Communication Manager, Ford Motor Company, has been cited as having said

Production of the Ka+ for Europe concludes in September and will be available for our customers as long as stocks last.

The Ford Ka+ range has been struggling to keep up with rivals such as the Renault Twingo and the Dacia Sandero. Moreover, axing the model should help the company cut down on its overall CO2 emissions. The CO2 penalties that the Ka+ would have had incurred would have made it even less popular among the city car buyers. Elaborating further, Finn has reportedly said that the decision to discontinue the model is in line with the company's strategy of creating a sustainably profitable business in Europe by either improving or discontinuing the less profitable model ranges.

The 2018 Ford Ka+ range is currently on sale in Europe at a starting price of £11,300 (INR 10,28,733). It is available with a 1.2-litre Ti-VCT three-cylinder petrol that is available in two states of tunes - 70 PS/113.5 Nm and 85 PS/115 Nm, and the 1.5-litre TDCi four-cylinder diesel engine that offers 95 PS and 215 Nm of torque. All the motors come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission that sends power to the front wheels.

Also See - 2019 Ford Figo (facelift) - First Drive Review

In India, the 2019 Ford Figo (facelift) was launched last month. On sale at a starting price of INR 5,82,600 (ex-showroom, New Delhi), the refreshed model features styling updates that mimic the 2018 Ford Ka+. It is available with three engine options to choose from- 1.2L Ti-VCT three-cylinder petrol, 1.5L Ti-VCT three-cylinder petrol and 1.5L TDCi four-cylinder diesel. While the smaller petrol engine and the oil-burner are available with a 5-speed manual transmission, the range-topping petrol motor comes mated to a 6-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.