CHENNAI /NEW DELHI: Ford India on Thursday launched Freestyle, a hybrid between a compact vehicle and the SUV, betting on greater demand from the Indian market after the success of its CUV pioneer Ecosport.“We are happy how things are turning out in India. While the whole industry grew at 1 per cent in the first three months of 2018, we registered a growth of 11 per cent,” said Anurag Mehrotra, president and managing director, Ford India to TNIE.
Growing protectionism through higher trade tariffs has put automakers like Ford, which owns manufacturing plants in TN and Gujarat, under pressure to design, make and cater to the domestic market.
Packed with technology like active rollover prevention that will provide stability in blind turns and bends, the low-end version of Freestyle is priced at `5,09,000 and runs on petrol.