Ford drives in ‘Freestyle' as part of UV push in India

Automaker Ford India on Thursday launched a compact utility vehicle Freestyle, priced between Rs 5.09 lakh and Rs 7.89 lakh (ex-showroom), as it looks to strengthen presence in the growing utility vehicle (UV) space.

The company, which already sells UV models like EcoSport and Endevour, expects the new model to bring in additinal volumes by cashing in on the demand for small SUVs, crossovers in the domestic market.

"When we launched the EcoSport in 2013 the mini SUV segment was barely 3 per cent of the total industry. today it is around 12 per cent and by 2022 we know it will be around 24 per cent of the market. So this segment has just burst at the seams," Ford India President and Managing Director Anurag Mehrotra told reporters here.

With more products coming, the segment is going to evolve even further, he added.

Mehrotra said that popularity of the segment can be gauged by the fact that one in four customers in the country currently want to buy an UV.