India-bound Ford B-Max garners 2,500 orders in Britain in just 6 weeks

Ford's mini MPV B-Max is enjoying eager responses from the Britons.

Ford has already delivered 1,000 cars in less than six weeks and claims that the bookings have exceeded 2,500 units. The mini MPV has a sliding door which has the traditional B pillar structure integrated into it.

Mr. Antony Ireson, Marketing director of Ford Britain said that there has been a phenomenal response for the B-Max's marketing campaign which offered a chance to win unusual prizes that would not normally be available to the general public. He stated that he was amazed to see the true level of interest especially since most of the customers placed orders even before visiting the showroom.

Another fact that brings cheers to Ford is that 63% of the bookings came from customers who intend to use the B-Max as their private vehicles while 22% came from motability customers and 15% from fleet operators.

The B-Max is available with 3 petrol and 2 diesel engine options. The 1.0 litre EcoBoost is available in two states of tune - 100 PS and 120 PS.

The entry level 1.4 litre petrol motor develops 90 PS while a 1.6 litre petrol motor develops 105 PS and is the only engine to be available with Powershift automatic gearbox. The diesel power comes from a 1.6 TDCI with 95 PS and a 1.5 TDCI with 75 PS.

Ford India is likely to launch a seven seat version of the B-Max called the Grand B-Max as part of the 8 new products that Ford India has promised by mid decade. The Grand B-Max will be an Ertiga fighter and is expected to launch here in 2014.

Ford India has not confirmed any new launches besides the EcoSport, which is the second of the 8 products, following the launch of the Fiesta sedan last year. The B-Max is a MPV hat on the Fiesta platform.

[Source: Carscoop.blogspot.com]