In his taped address Ford Motor Company president and CEO Jacques Nasser said: "The car will have enough headroom to accomodate a turban and it will have enough entry space to keep sarees from getting snagged. It will have enough ground clearance to handle local road and weather conditions, and in short, it's a vehicle built in India, by India, for Indians."

Ford Ikon, to be rolled out in both petrol and diesel versions, will have a local content of 70 per cent and will be Euro II compliant. The engines and transmission system will be imported from South Africa and Europe and the company plans to indigenise these processes over the next 3-5 years.

The company, however, was tightlipped about the price of the new car. "All we can say at this juncture is that Ikon will becompetitively priced. We are keeping our options open in view of the changing market," Ford India managing director Philip G Spender said.

Market observers, however believe that given the experience of the company with the Escort, it will price Ikon in such a manner that the lower end model would be on par with Maruti Esteem while the higher end model would be priced close to Honda City. This means that the models could come in the price bracket of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. Dealers also say that there is a possibility of a lower pricing provided the company is able to increase the indigenous content.

The company, which plans to produce 20,000 cars in the first year of launch, hopes to target youth and women as potential customers. Some of its features would appeal to women who play a very important role in any car buying decision, Spender said.

According to the Ford Motor CEO, "Now I know in India, the naming of a child is a special time for the entire family. And the Ford family takes the naming of itscars and trucks just as seriously."

"We tried to capture the symbols of India. India has many icons like the Taj Mahal, the Gandhis and even Tendulkar," he added.

Ford India chairman Terrall M De Jonckheere, who is also president of the Asia Pacific and African operations, said the parent company has recognised India as the base for a global platform. Ford India is looking at export opportunities for the new car to South America. "We even plan to export CKDs of the new model, sheet metals and compressors within 18 months of the launch," Jonckheere said.

He added that Ford India would be handing back Mahindra & Mahindra's Nashik faclity, which is currently being used for Escort production, next month.

The company, he added, had enough stock to take care of the downtime that would be required in shifting the production base of the Escort to Maramalai Nagar. He also hinted at the possibility of the company going slow on the Escort saying that Ford would now concentrate on improving the volumes of Ikon.Escort sales have declined significantly and are currently hovering around 150 to 200 cars a month.