Ford India seems to be enticing potential customers to break free of their traditional dogma by offering a Rs 55,000 discount on the sticker price of its flagship Ikon for the ongoing 'shradh' period.
Ford India on Friday announced a special eight-day offer on the 1.6 litre Ikon (Exi version), which will be available for Rs 499,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi). That is about Rs 55,000 lower than the sticker price.
Ford India's head of marketing and sales V Sivaramakrishnan said the idea was to improve sales its flagship model during the 15-day 'shradh period' that began on September 18, when prospective buyers put on hold new purchases.
Citing poor demand in the northern and the western markets during this inauspicious period, he said the company was attempting to spur buyers though this offer.
Market sources, however, offered a different take. According to them, this was Ford's first step at launching its new 'premium aspirational car' that will be complementing the Ikon.
Though company officials have remained tightlipped about the specifications of the new car, sources in the market said the new offering could possibly be the 1.4 litre and a 1.6 litre versions, priced at around Rs 600,000 to Rs 650,000 that will fetch volumes.
Sivaramakrishnan said the Ikon that comes in two versions, 1.6 litre and 1.3 litre, has been giving an average volume of around 2000 units a month.
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