Ford Motor Company joins the race to increase their share in the city car market. In its latest move, the company introduced its newest product: Ford EcoSport in New Delhi, India, last week. The Ford’s new compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) was introduced to the country’s general public at the 11th Auto Expo 2012 from Jan. 7 to 11.

As a global product, however, EcoSport is designed to become a model to expand Ford’s presence in the major worldwide markets, following the success of its Figo and Fiesta sedan in India and other markets. Ford says EcoSport development was based on market research in all regions where it will be sold.

Regrettably, however, Ford delayed the announcement of when the EcoSport would hit the market. Customers also have to wait for the details about its interior because Ford has not revealed this information to the public.

The car is equipped with a three-cylinder 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine that produces 120 PS (horse power) and 170 Nm of torque, which rivals its traditional 1.6-liter petrol engine, delivering class-leading petrol engine CO2 emissions of under 140 grams per kilometer.

“EcoSport is perfect for crowded urban streets and it inspires you to seek adventure away from the city too. Its footprint is small enough for the city, yet it’s strong and rugged enough for trips to the mountains and countryside,” J. Mays, Ford’s group vice president, design and chief creative officer told journalists from Asia Pacific countries after a ceremony to reveal the car at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi Jan. 4.

The compact, low-inertia turbo uses a vacuum actuated waste gate that reduces back-pressure. Ford’s Ti-VCT (twin independent variable camshaft timing) flushes residual gases from the cylinder, improving turbo performance.

Meanwhile, the direct injection system operates at a pressure of 150 bars and is able to deliver multiple fuel injections per stroke, giving better control over the fuel usage and reducing exhaust emissions.

The new EcoBoost engine uses an innovative flywheel and front pulley design to counter engine vibration. This delivers refinement without affecting performance. A split cooling system features separate circuits for the head and cylinder block, enabling faster warm-up.

Meanwhile, the new EcoSport’s exterior has a contemporary shape that conveys confidence while combining refinement and an adventurous spirit. It sports SUV cues such as a confident stance, commanding driving position and signature spare wheel mounted on a swing-gate at the rear of the vehicle.

It has modern looks, shaped by Ford’s new global design language, and is aerodynamically honed for fuel efficiency. A wide hood sweeps into sculpted bodylines, conveying kineticism and refined surface language that suggests strength and a dynamic spirit in motion.

Modern, oblique headlamps frame a high-mounted trapezoidal grille. The windshield is steeply raked, and blacked out B-pillars unite the side  glass into one element shape, complementing a shape honed in a wind  tunnel for efficiency.

The rear of the vehicle features a large rear window that wraps around to the sides along with railings. A stand-out feature is the spare tyre attached to a swing-out door signaling the EcoSport’s practicality and spirit for adventure.

Created as the latest Ford global pro-duct, the EcoSport has been developed in South America at one of Ford’s eight global product development centers. “The all-new Ford EcoSport reflects our commitment to serve our customers with the cars and trucks they truly want and value. Our engineering team used their years of EcoSport experience to make every aspect of the next-generation EcoSport even stronger,” said Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company.

The new EcoSport was developed on Ford’s new global B-segment platform, which will be the basis for an array of new small car products. Ford expects that by mid-decade, Ford’s B-platform family of vehicles will represent more than 2 million units of annual production as it will be sold in 100 global markets around the world, including Indonesia.

Speaking about Ford’s plan to increase its share in the Indonesian market, Mullaly said that his company had paid serious attention to the growing market in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries.

“Indonesia is a big country. The market is great and keeps growing. We have a good plan to increase our share in any growing market like Indonesia,” Alan told Indonesian journalists on the sidelines of a dinner meeting on Jan. 4.

He, however, said that Ford, which has a car manufacturing firm in Thailand, has no plan to set up a factory in Indonesia. EcoSport will be produced in assembly plants in Brazil, India and other countries.

According Ford’s press statement, the EcoSport, whose project was led by Ford’s Development Center in Camacari, Brazil, has been a market phenomenon since it was launched in South America in 2003 as the region’s first affordable SUV, selling 700,000 vehicles in nine years.

EcoSport is Ford’s linchpin in its global plan to achieve its goal of increasing worldwide sales by nearly 50 percent by mid decade to 8 million vehicles a year. Of the figure, 60 to 70 percent are expected to come from the Asia Pacific and Africa region.

But of course, to prove and feel the real performance of EcoSport, customers must wait until Ford releases it to the market.

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