Ford India Limited, the Indian arm of Ford Motor Company, unveiled a new-look Ikon Zxi in the first week of September 2001. The new-look car rolls out with monochromatic front- and rear-end paint treatment and a new, black honeycomb grill with a body colour surround.

The new variant will be available in three new colours: moondust silver, panther black and ash green - thus increasing Zxis total colour choices to 10. So far, the glamour shades of panther black and moondust silver were available only on Ford Ikon SXI; now they have been extended to all other Ford variants.

The interior of the car has also been changed with new interior fabrics replacing the old ones. Incidentally, the company has made no changes in the price tag and all the models - 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8 - will be available at the old prices.

Revealing the new look machine, Randy Shockley, vice-president, marketing, sales and service, Ford India Limited told domain-b: The new-look Zxi is an evolution of the josh machine. We will continue to adopt Fords distinctive global styling cues to keep Ford Ikon fresh and appealing to customers. We have tried to give the car a crisp, refined and fresher feel and look.

Ford Ikon was first launched in India in November 1999 and since then it has sold 52,743 cars. Speaking to domain-b Santosh Nair, general manager, marketing and product planning, Ford India Limited, said: We are elated at having crossed the 50,000-mark and already enjoy a 23-per cent market share in the segment.

Other major competitors for Ford in the segment are Huyandai, Maruti Esteem and Honda.

Ford India sold 4,228 cars in August 2001, registering a growth of 183 per cent over the number of cars sold in August 2000. Out of the 4,228 cars 1,088 were sold in the domestic market and the rest were exported. Between April and June 2001, the company sold 10,004 cars, registering a growth of 99.4 per cent over the corresponding periods figure.

Has the ongoing slowdown not affected Ford India? Shockley agrees the slowdown has already affected the cars sales. But we havent lost ground to our competitors yet. Nair says the industry has registered a negative growth of 17 per cent till the end of August 2001, but Ford India has done a better job.

Shockley says the Indian market is very important for them. To penetrate further, the strategy would be to strengthen the companys dealer and distribution network. Towards this end, Ford India has already set up dealer networks in Jammu, Bhatinda, Kanpur and Ghaziabad. With these additions the company, in toto, has a 64-strong dealer network.

What does Shockley think of Indian roads? Dont be surprised by the answer: I think they are the best in the world.