Ford plans to launch 8 new models in India

U.S.-based Ford Motor Co. said it would introduce eight new vehicles in India by 2015 to capitalize on increasing demand in the country’s fast-expanding car market. Ford’s renewed thrust into India is part of its strategy to deepen its presence in emerging markets such as China and Brazil to insulate itself from slower growth in the key markets of U.S. and Europe. Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, said industry sales in Asia-Pacific and Africa will more than double to an estimated 35 million vehicles by 2018, from 16 million units in 2009. Those regions are expected to comprise nearly 70% of Ford’s global growth during the next 10 years, he said. (August 27, 2010)