When Ford launched the EcoSport in June 2013, we thought it’s a great vehicle at a great price. The EcoSport was perceived as a value-for-money offering against the Renault Duster since it offered much more at a significantly lesser price. People thronged Ford dealerships to get their hands on this snazzy looking vehicle first. A long never-ending waiting period was bound to occur going by the number of bookings received by Ford. However, the VFM feeling of the EcoSport soon died down in a couple of months when Ford hiked its prices.
The EcoSport’s prices were first hiked in September 2013 and the new vehicle was costlier by Rs. 22,000/- to Rs. 38,000/- depending on the variant and engine options. Ford even dropped some goodies and this didn’t go down too well with buyers. Many customers cancelled their bookings and opted for the Honda Amaze or even the more expensive Renault Duster. Ford hasn’t even offered any type of price protection to customers who booked their vehicles at the earlier price and this means that buyers will have to pay the amount that is prevailing at the time of delivery.
Now Ford has hiked the EcoSport’s prices yet again. We have compared the prices right from the launch to the September hike to the latest hike and inferred that the price difference now is very steep compared to the original prices. Many buyers had booked their vehicles during the time when it was launched and are still awaiting delivery and we won’t be surprised if they lose interest in the EcoSport and opt for some other vehicle. The long waiting period is another significant downside. Ford has accepted more than 60,000 bookings but till now only half of the customers have actually got their vehicles.
This is a common tactic by many companies who launch new vehicles at mouth-watering rates by offering the lowest variant with hardly any features just to maintain a starting price range of x.99 lakhs. This is done to create hype and bring people to showrooms who then end up buying higher variants with more features. The Ford EcoSport doesn’t sound as VFM as it did during launch and this is because of two significant price hikes in a span of less than a year. What’s your take on this?
All the above mentioned prices are ex-showroom, Delhi
