Sep 15, 2013 12:45 PM
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I was reading this article and Its quite sad to know, well, "Ford India has a winner in its hands- the EcoSport. And the problem is that they know it. The company announced very competitive pricing for the EcoSport when they launched it in June. This very pricing got them around 40, 000 bookings. Ford was very clear about the prices being introductory at the time of the launch and now they have increased prices of the car by around Rs 30, 000 to 50, 000 depending on the variants.
Due to overwhelming bookings that they have received, Ford dealers have currently closed bookings of the SUV. The dealers also have told customers (who have already booked the Ford EcoSport) that the price at the time of delivery will be applicable. This in short means that if your EcoSport hasn’t been delivered yet and you have booked the top-end variant, expect to fork out around a lakh more. Moreover, dealers are also advising customers not to go in for a color change as this wil l again push the delivery dates of their EcoSport. (Courtesy: https://overdrive.in/news/ford-ecosport-prices-hiked-in-india/) "
Well, There's more bad news, While speaking to a manager at a Ford Dealership, he says, there's news that Ford is planning to remove the push-start feature in the titanium model after the price hike, which means there's a strip-down of features too for those who have opted for the higher-end model.
On closer look at the SYNC, apart from hands-free phone and audio, it does not have 'GPS', 'Wiper on/off' controls (both on the new Fiesta), Video controls nor the 'door lock/unlock' control (like the one in Xylo) and it does not recognize many smart phones (read review on SYNC on the net)
I also found from the representative I spoke to that delivery of vehicles is based on the number of booking by variant at that dealership. So If a person has booked the titanium model at a showroom where they received high volumes for that model will have to wait longer than a person who may have booked a month later for the same titanium model & color at a different showroom where the booking for the titanium model was low and this can happen in the same city with different dealers. In other words, the booking number has no reference to the order in which it will be delivered. But Initially salesmen said that bookings are completely online-based to eliminate any delivery discrimination and hence delivery would be based on the booking number across the country.
A huge fall-back on their commitments, They know that they have a winner in their hands (Initially 30K bookings in 17days and currently around 40k bookings) , but in this way, they may loose that winner. There's no price protection and they cannot stick to their commitment, how can anyone look for a long relationship with them??
