Contrary to what was told to the media at the Geneva motor show in March, the Ford EcoSport will no longer be launched across Europe “at the end of 2013”.
The plan is now to roll out the B segment SUV as a limited edition of 500 units, 120 of which will come to Britain, in “Q1, 2014”, a Ford spokesman has told just-auto.com. This will be followed by what he terms “full availability across Europe from Q2, 2014”. The model has been a brisk seller in India, from where both LHD and RHD EcoSports for Europe will be sourced.
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“Job one remains in 2013, and there is no delay”, Ford’s man insists. “Sales are further out than normal because of the distance from India to Europe”, he adds.
At a media event in Amsterdam in September 2012, Ford of Europe stated that the little SUV would be sold in the region “within the next 18 months”.
Meanwhile, the Russian-made model is said to be on schedule for an “H2, 2014” local launch. One of the two Ford-Sollers JV plants at Elabuga in Tatarstan will manufacture it, to be followed by Ford 1.6-litre petrol engines from December 2015, the partners stated in May.
The second generation of this small, Fiesta-based SUV had its global debut in pre-production form at the New Delhi auto expo in January 2012, premiering as a production model at the Beijing motor show three months later. The vehicle is already built in Brazil, China and since May 2013, in India. As well as in Russia, production will also take place in Thailand, with the local market launch scheduled for this November.
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By GlobalDataFord of Europe revealed the model for this region at the Geneva motor show in March. The EcoSport will be available in most EU and EFTA markets with the choice of 1.0 EcoBoost and 1.5-litre petrol engines, as well as a 1.5-litre diesel.
As well as for India, Ford’s Maraimalai Nagar plant near Chennai builds the model for export to Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
Author: Glenn Brooks
