Ford expects Indian premium SUV market to touch 1 lakh by '24; launches new Endeavour

In a bid to reclaim lost ground in the premium SUV segment in the country, Ford India today launched the new Endeavour with prices starting at Rs 24.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai, with octroi). The third-generation Endeavour is available in two trim levels – Trend and Titanium – with a choice of two diesel engines, gearboxes and the option of an all-wheel drive.

Pegged right against Toyota’s Fortuner, which took the market by storm after its launch in 2009 and has since remained the segment leader, Ford is hoping to capture a chunk of the premium SUV market with its latest offering.

Assembled from an imported CKD kit at the Chennai plant, Ford has the capacity to roll out 1,000 units every month, but the company did not reveal the current production plan for the Endeavour.

The two engines on offer on the Endeavour include a 158bhp 2.2-litre four cylinder unit that comes paired with a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic gearbox; the option of an all-wheel drive is also available. The second motor is a larger 197bhp, 3.2-litre, five-cylinder unit that gets the six-speed automatic gearbox as standard and a permanent all-wheel drive.

There's a healthy amount of equipment on the Endeavour as well. Standard features include dual airbags, ABS, traction control, hill-start assist, Ford MyKey, eight-way power adjustable front seats, Ford SYNC infotainment system with touchscreen and voice control, CD/MP3 player with a 10-speaker audio system, Bluetooth and aux connectivity with steering-mounted controls, dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors, powered tail-gate and cruise control.

The all-wheel-drive model, in addition, gets hill descent control and Ford’s Terrain Management System – a system similar to Land Rover’s Terrain Response System. The top-spec Titanium model additionally gets features such as seven airbags, automatic headlamps, LED daytime-running lamps, LED tail-lamps, ambient lighting, parking sensors along with semi-automatic parallel parking assists and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The new SUV gets a seven-seat layout as standard with the middle row providing the sliding and reclining function. The third row seats can be folded at the touch of a button.

Built on a completely new platform, the new Endeavour will be available in six colours -- Sunset Red, Golden Bronze, Diamond White, Panther Black, Moondust Silver and Smoke Grey. 

Speaking at the launch event, Nigel Harris, president and managing director, Ford India, said, "In 2015, we fulfilled our product excellence promise with two new products, the compact sedan Figo Aspire and hatchback Figo. Today’s launch is another stellar example of our product excellence promise with the all new Endeavour. In the second generation Endeavour, we have retained the brand promise and strengthened it to deliver a whole lot more. From a modest 500 to just over 5,000 in 2010 to an impressive 18,000 units in 2015, the premium SUV segment has grown exponentially. Our premium SUV is a purpose built vehicle, that’s great to look at, sit in, drive & safe for all. It’s as impressive from the inside, as it is stunning from the outside."

According to Harris the premium SUV market in India is on track to touch the 100,000 unit mark by 2024 and Ford is looking to capture a large share of the growing market with the Endeavour.

Globally as well, Ford is looking to increase the share of its SUV sales from 23% at present to 29% by 2020, he added.

Commenting on the government’s plan to leapfrog to BS VI norms by 2020, Harris said that even though it would be difficult, Ford India has the technical capability to meet the new deadline and added that a lot would depend on the availability of the fuel for advance testing purposes.

The decision to leapfrog to BS VI norms has been taken at a time when an intense debate is going on rising level of pollution, while an innovative odd-even formula is being tried in the National Capital to check vehicular pollution, alongside a selective ban on sale of diesel SUVs and luxury cars in the region.

Commenting on the diesel SUV ban in Delhi-NCR, Harris admitted that the overall sales of the new Endeavour would be impacted because of the significant size of the Delhi-NCR market, but hoped to compensate from other big markets like Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.