Ford Motors' India Specific Strategies

Upon entering a country, multinational companies normally have the tendency to extend the same strategies, which had been successfully applied in other parts of the world. However, over a period of time, they learn the unique characteristics of the market and develop appropriate strategies suitable for the host countries. Following the policy liberisations of the Government of India in 1991, a number of multinational car companies entered the country. These companies launched big cars assuming that the small car owners in India would immediately upgrade to them. Ford India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Ford Motors launched Ford Escort. These cars were considered to be quite bigger cars and the Indian buyers shunned them. These companies, which had established huge manufacturing facilities in the country, faced poor utilization of capacity. Ford India Ltd also faced the same crisis. In order to sell the cars it had manufactured, the company applied innovative strategies such as limited edition strategies. As these strategies were novel in the Indian context, they yielded significant results. However, the company realized that to be successful in the long run, appropriate strategies based on the special requirements of the Indian buyer should be developed.This paper deals with the India specific strategies developed by Ford India Ltd. Limited Edition strategy, Exclusive design strategy (Ford Ikon), Product adaptation strategy and Used car strategy have been chronologically dealt with. It also elaborately narrates the hardships faced by the company in the process of implementing these strategies as well as the outcome of these strategies.