February 5, 2010 was an exciting and memorable day for everybody at Ford India. It was a day when we achieved not one, but two milestones – a day of double celebrations!

Firstly, it was a proud moment as our Figo’s first production model was driven off the assembly line at the Maraimalai Nagar plant in Chennai. What made it all the more special was the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. M Karunanidhi and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. M K Stalin. Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India; Raj Nair, vice president of operations, Asia Pacific and Africa; Sandip Sanyal, executive director of operations, Ford India and nearly three thousand employees of the newly expanded Chennai facilities were all on hand to join in the Job 1 ceremony.

“Michael Boneham (Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India), Raj Nair (VP, operations- Ford APA), sitting in white CM Dr. M Karunanidhi, standing in white is Deputy CM Dr. M K Stalin.”

“Figo is a great example of the role Ford will play in the future of India,” Dr. Karunanidhi said during the ceremony.

Michael restated the vision for Ford in India, saying, “Less than six months ago, Ford Motor Company reaffirmed its commitment to transform the plant located here outside Chennai into a regional manufacturing centre of excellence.”

“It’s a great honour to have you with us as our projects and investments are turning to reality and the completion of our first Ford Figo off this assembly line,” he told our special guests.

Secondly, the Job 1 ceremony was followed by the inauguration of the new engine facility that manufactures the exclusive 1.2L petrol engine for Figo. Dr. M K Stalin congratulated the Ford India team for the new engine plant facility and wished us all the best for the Figo launch.

“Left to right: Dr M.K Stalin (standing in white) Deputy Chief Minister; Sandip Sanyal President & MD, Ford India Ltd,; Tom Chackalackal, VP, Vehicle operation, Ford; Michael Boneham, President & MD, Ford India Ltd; Raj Nair-VP, Operations-APAC, Ford Motor Company”

It was difficult to contain our joy at seeing years of hard work coming to fruition. “It’s exciting to see the first Figo coming to life,” Raj said. “We’re confident that the Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian buyers,” he added.

New Engine Plant

Our new engine plant, with a capacity of 250,000 engines a year, will lead the way in transforming Chennai into a major hub for diesel and petrol engine exports in the coming decade. The plant will quadruple production capacity of the engine manufacturing facility.

Explaining the story behind the plant, Michael stated, “This engine plant was created with a ‘best of the best’ approach. We benchmarked against other competitive facilities globally, as well as the current volume manufacturers in India for quality and production efficiency.”

Initially, the plant will focus on the assembly of both the common rail 1.4L diesel engine and the new 1.2L petrol engine—both to be fitted in the Figo. What’s more, the new line is completely flexible and will have the ability to handle both diesel and petrol engines simultaneously.

With this red-letter day behind us, we’re looking forward to the Figo launch! Stay tuned.

Sometime in the first quarter of 2010, a young man called Sandeep will walk into a Ford dealership with his parents and wife, and drive out in the Figo. Later that evening, he’ll text his buddy: “Hey Akash, I just bought the Figo! Coming for a drive?”

We’re not Nostradamus, but our marketing team’s little “prediction” might well turn out to be true. After all, the team has met not one, not two, but dozens of “Sandeeps” over the past few months. Our Sandeeps are in their mid-twenties, and are quintessential middle class youth. They are recently married and have earned a promotion and recognition at work. As the marketing guys put it, “Sandeep is Figo’s ideal target customer”.

Engaging these ideal customers was no mean task – the marketing team approached several Sandeeps to learn not only what they looked for in a car, but also what made them tick. They met their families, went shopping and even clubbing with them, and asked them a long list of questions. And their thorough work paid off – we now know their favourite movies (Sholay, DDLJ, Ghajini), gadgets (Apple iPod) and music (A.R. Rahman), what they do online (banking and Orkuting) and just about everything else in their lives (some want to buy a car, others a plasma TV).

What have we achieved from this exercise? For starters, we learned that the Figo’s customer, Sandeep is a complex person indeed: we figure that Sandeep is ambitious while being rooted to family values and traditions. Ford India brand manager Rahul Gautam says, “Sandeep wants to give attention to his family, spend time with his wife, and aspires to do well in his job. Interestingly, he has kept his bachelor mindset. So all this leads to some stress and tension because he feels pulled in different directions and is short of time.”

Rahul also explained the Sandeep-Figo connection to us recently. “Sandeep lives in a joint family with his parents. The Figo will be Sandeep’s exclusive space. He can use it for himself, on his way to work. He can take his wife out safely in the night, occasionally pick up relatives or friends from the airport, and take his family for weekend trips.”

Illustrating our commitment towards understanding the core customer, we invited some of the Sandeeps to New Delhi on September 23, where they met Ford Motor Company’s President and CEO Alan Mulally. Alan was quite excited to meet them just before Figo’s reveal to the world. “Thanks a lot for doing this,” he told the Sandeeps. “It’s such a big deal for Ford to compete in the centre of the Indian market and you helped.”

We just can’t wait for the Figo to hit the roads next year; nor can the Sandeeps!

Do you know a Sandeep or want to know more about him? Tell us what you think!

In our earlier post, we explained how automation at the Chennai plant and robots ensured best-in-class vehicles.

But quality doesn’t end with the manufacturing process. We have to ensure that our cars are able to survive tough Indian road conditions before they’re shipped out. For this, Ford’s developed a 3.2-kilometre dedicated vehicle quality testing circuit in our plant.

Testing Time

Name the road type and the testing track has it – straight, twisting, cement, rough roads or village streets! Engineers conduct rigorous quality test drives on Ford cars for up to 40 kilometres.

Our forthcoming Ford Figo will also go through several quality checks and tests to ensure we give consumers nothing but the best. Some of these tests will include:

• Hill climbs to test vehicle power and braking
• Lock-to-lock turning manoeuvres to check the steering system
• Straight line tests to verify wheel and steering alignment

Once we begin Figo production, we will test vehicles at random for quality inconsistencies in manufacturing and get them corrected. “Quality is one of the key pillars our brand stands on and the spirit of commitment to achieve world-class quality is inspiring,” says Ram Ramanathan, general manager, Vehicle Quality, Ford India.

Did You Hear That?
You certainly don’t want to hear squeaks and rattles while driving your car. We’ve adopted a global approach to identify the root causes of such noises and fix them permanently.

Every vehicle goes through the new ‘squeak and rattle track’ after it leaves the assembly line. The uneven and rough surfaces put stresses on the vehicle chassis and body, such as ‘body twists’, where stresses are put to one side of the vehicle (negotiating a curve).

A state-of-the-art hydro-pulse four-post test rig verifies, validates and investigates the squeaks and rattles. Immediately after this, the vehicle goes through further tests at full operating temperature, which include:

• Underbody hot check for leaks in engine oil, transmission oil, engine coolant and air-conditioning refrigerant systems
• Air-conditioning performance
• Grille temperature, which is compared to the ambient temperature
• Correct tyre pressure and battery charge state

Water, Water Everywhere!

Your chances of reaching home in a heavy July downpour are bleak if your vehicle stalls in the water. But if you are in a Ford, you can breathe easy; we put our cars through a water wading test, inspired by the monsoons and the ensuing flooded roads.

Engineers drive the car through a simulated flood (a puddle of water 50 metres across and 450 mm deep) at 10 kmph. Back on dry land, engineers check for leakage and whether the mechanical systems are operating normally. “We engineer our vehicles to endure that level of flooding, and keep testing so that our customers can be assured that their vehicles are manufactured to meet that standard,” Mr Ramanathan says.

What do you think of our new testing track? What tests would you like to see your car go through? Let us know!

In a recent interview to NDTV Profit, Jim Farley, Group Vice President (Marketing and Communications) at the Ford Motor Company, spoke about the vibrancy of the Indian market, the differences between Indian and Chinese car buyers, and challenges of communicating the Ford’s brand promise in India.

About India, he said, “This is a very unique market, the customers are very demanding and they have a pride point in owning a vehicle that you don’t see anywhere else.” Watch the full interview here.

Green is a favourite colour at Ford’s Maraimalai plant near Chennai, where the Figo is being produced. The plant has almost 50 acres of green cover that includes well-tended lawns and a green belt. This is just one aspect of Ford’s commitment to the environment and the community.

Across the plant, Ford has also put in place initiatives to reduce energy consumption and emissions. “The biggest user of energy and fuel in a manufacturing plant is the paint shop,” says Tom Chackalackal, vice president, Manufacturing, Ford India.

Ford’s revamped paint shop incorporates the three-wet high solids process, which has reduced carbon dioxide emission by 15 percent and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission by 20 percent. We call this the next-generation environment-friendly technology.

In addition, the paint shop uses energy-efficient ovens and equipment. “By introducing this new technology, we’re cutting energy use and fuel consumption significantly, and that’s good for the environment and the community,” adds Chackalackal.

Ford has also installed a zero-discharge wastewater treatment facility for the plant complex. As a result, all the wastewater is treated and reused – saving plenty of water.

The company’s environmentally-aware practices do not end here. Manufacturing units often dump their solid waste in landfills, creating hazards for the environment. Ford has completely eliminated the need for landfills by building a zero solid waste facility. All the solid waste that is generated at the plant is recycled or co-processed in the cement industry.

Finally, Ford has also improved internal processes to reduce consumption of important resources. Here’s a tiny indicator: in the past three years, we have reduced water consumption by 30 percent per car, and electricity consumption by 10 percent per car.

What do you think of these green initiatives? How do you live a green life? Tell us!

- By the Ford Figo Team

Liked what the new Ford Endeavour looks like? We did too. The car’s good looks are thanks to the distinctive embossed chrome grille, wraparound headlamps and new tail lamps, the wide header bar, and, of course, its glossy colour and paint quality.

The new Endeavour is the first car to be painted using our pioneering painting technology– the three-wet high solids system. At Ford, we take pride in our high-tech colour selection and painting process. Here’s a peek at what goes into painting a Ford car.

Painting cars – Then and Now
Earlier, our designers had to rely on paint chips or a car door to see how a colour would look. Now, with computer-generated models, the designers map a colour on any vehicle, and view it from a variety of angles and lighting conditions to make sure it’s right. Thus designers can experiment, and we get better colours for our cars. BTW, the colours also need a nod from our dealer network and customers.

The three-wet high solids system was used to paint the new Endeavour. This paint system was pioneered at the Avon Lake plant for trucks in the US a couple years ago. Ford is the only automaker to use the three-wet high solids system in India. “We’re excited to launch this breakthrough technology in India,” says Kalyan Murugan, project manager for Ford India’s paint shop.

Why we Love it (and you will too)
Our team is excited about this because it will be used for the Figo as well. The technology gives us and car owners a range of innumerable benefits. For us, it’s great because:
• It has reduced our energy consumption, is eco-friendly, cost-efficient solution that produces beautifully painted vehicles with long-term durability
• It has more than doubled our Chennai plant’s hourly vehicle capacity (from 15 to 34 vehicles per hour)
• The system produces less carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions and reduces volatile organic compounds emissions by 20 percent, important considerations for Ford and the community

The paint shop team loves it because it makes things simpler and faster for them. Cars are painted in three wet coats without baking between coats, so there are no primer ovens and no primer preparation booth.
It’s good for the car owner because it gives his car a superior finish with high gloss and depth of colour, greater durability and better resistance against scratches and stone chips.

“It’s not very often that we can deliver quality, cost and environmental objectives with a single paint technology,” Mr Murugan explains.

Robots get to work
The most exciting bit is that (hold your breath here!) robots apply the paint. It’s a sight straight out of a sci-fi movie. Specialized robotic paint units apply the coats quickly, efficiently and evenly. The paint booth uses 16 such robots — eight for the base coat application and four each for the primer and clear coat.
There is also a new robotic underbody sealer application process, which uses three robots to apply the sealer (a quicker, higher quality approach for vehicle durability). After the finishes are applied, each vehicle passes through one of two new baking ovens.

The new formulation we use contains more paint solids, which means that the car paint promises longer-term resistance and better durability to scratches than other paints (water-borne paint and medium-solids solvent-borne paint).

The result — a fabulous Ford car that you can show off. So watch out for the Figo’s high-quality appearance, glossy finish, and more.

– By the Ford Figo team

What do you do when you want to spread the message of peace all over the country? Why, you drive through it, of course!

Dilpreet Singh Bindra, director of catering sales at the Taj Palace Delhi, drove across India in a 13,000-km journey in his Ford Fusion, connecting with Taj employees and the people of India in the spirit of unity and harmony. The journey ended at the Taj hotel in Mumbai, where the devastating terrorist attacks in November 2008 occurred.

And why the Ford, we asked Bindra. “I bought my Ford Fusion in 2008 and I just love it. I have a sense of safety and security when I’m behind the wheel of a Ford,” he replied. Hear, hear! Here’s to peace and to Ford!

Read more about Bindra’s journey here.