India-made Ford Ka+ to compete with Dacia Sandero, Opel Corsa - Report
Rebranded Ford Figo to be priced from around £8,000 (INR 7,63,157) in UK.
The Euro-spec Ford Ka is currently in its second generation and is based on the Fiat 500's platform, and is built by Fiat in Poland. Ford is working on the third generation model, which will purely be a Ford product. Said to be named Ford Ka+ with the '+' suffix reflecting the increased dimensions, the all-new model will essentially be the current South American-spec Ford Ka (second generation Ford Figo).
The current Ford Fiesta's lower entry price brings it on par with the Hyundai i10. And so, the next-gen Ford Fiesta's entry price point will likely be higher in order to let the Ford Ka+ be the only competitor to the Opel Corsa, Dacia Sandero, and the Hyundai i10. This would be a good move to prevent sales cannibalisation. Furthermore, sourcing the car from India would also be helpful in keeping the Ka+'s price competitive, reports AutoExpress.
The Global B platform-based Ford Ka+ is expected to be offered with three petrol engines in Europe: 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbocharged three-cylinder petrol, 1.2-litre Ti-VCT naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol and 1.5-litre Ti-VCT four-cylinder petrol.
Also See: Next-gen 2017 Ford Fiesta – Rendering
The next-gen Fiesta could go turbocharged-only, distancing itself even more from the Ford Ka+. Transmission choices should include 5-speed manual and 6-speed PowerShift dual-clutch automatic.
Expect the Ford Ka+ to be unveiled in the second half of the year.
[Source - AutoExpress.co.uk]