Announcing this at a press briefing Ford India managing director Phil Spender said though ``Ikon'' was segmentised as mid-sized car, it would have its own segment as it has no direct competitor. Booking for ``Ikon'' would start by October while delivery would begin by Novemeber end through 43 Ford outlets across the country, he said. Spender said ``Ikon'' would be designed, developed and competitively priced to suit the Indian conditions and consumers.

Initially, Ikon would be available in two versions 1.6 litre petrol and 1.8 litre diesel and 1.3 litre petrol version is currently being developed. Ikon would be priced between Rs 5.05 to 7 lakh, he said.

Ford's integrated manufacturing facility at Maraimalai Nagar in Chennai would produce 100,000 units of ``Ikon'' per annum. Of that 20,000 units would be sold in India while theover 25,000 units would be exported destinations including South Africa and Mexico he said. However, depending on the demand and market conditions the production capacity could be expanded, he added.

Responding to a query on whether Ford would still continue with the production of its Escort, he said market conditions would decide however he added that and the company could hugely learn from Escorts. Spender said Ford would be making a margin on the Ikon, unlike in the case of Escort. The 43 per cent excise duty on power trains was very disappointing he said.