Ford plans to release four new cars in India in the next 18 to 20 months.

It also plans to increase localisation, to bring down manufacturing costs, Reuters reported.

Ford India president Nigel Harris said: “Within the next 18-20 months we plan to launch four new models in India.”

In 2010, the company had said it planned to launch eight models in India by the end of 2015.

Harris said: “We will be close to that but a couple of the models will be deferred by a couple of years.”

In the next five years, Ford plans to export almost 50% of the cars that it manufactures in India. At present, it exports about a third.

The company currently exports to 37 countries from India but plans to boost that to 50 over the five-year period.