Ford confirms Fiesta EcoSport SUV debut in India

Fiesta EcoSport SUV (rendered by Car & Driver Brazil)

Ford has confirmed they will reveal an all-new vehicle planned for introduction in India and other global markets which we assume is the EcoSport SUV.

A week or two back we reported that Ford in India has inadvertently posted some details about the upcoming Ford Ecosport, a high-riding compact SUV based on the same platform as the Fiesta. We speculated that the EcoSport would arrive at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi in January, and it looks like Ford has confirmed that.

Ford has announced that it will reveal a new global car at the New Delhi show in January, and that it will be an all new vehicle planned for introduction in India and other global markets in the near future. And we really can’t think of anything this all new Ford could be other than the Fiesta based compact SUV we expect to be the EcoSport.

The EcoSport is Ford’s answer to compact SUV sales taking a real upturn, as buyers turn to smaller versions of the bigger SUVs we’ve come used to proliferating on our roads. Cars like the funky Nissan Juke are taking a serious bite out of the compact car market, and Ford needs the EcoSport to compete.

The EcoSport will slot in beneath the new Ford Kuga in Ford’s range and will effectively be a jacked-up, butch-looking Fiesta with all the options the Fiesta has – or will be getting. That means we’re likely to see Ford’s new 1.0 litre Ecoboost 3-pot engine due in the Focus next year, as well as some diesel offerings for Europe.

We will probably see the Ecosport at Geneva in the Spring before a launch in Europe Summer 2012.

By Cars UK