Press Release
Australian Know-How behind India's New Ford Fiesta
The latest model in Ford's Fiesta range has just commenced sales in India – and it's thanks to a team led by Ford Australia engineers and designers that motorists in the sub-continent have a car designed specifically for their local conditions.
While the new model enjoyed input from Ford India and Ford of Europe engineers, it was the contribution made by some 150 Ford Australia staff which really got the wheels moving.
"The India Fiesta is one of the most ambitious small car projects we've ever undertaken, but everybody involved in the project – from stakeholders in Australia and India, right through to Bill Ford himself – are thoroughly impressed by the finished product," said Vice President Product Development Ford Australia, Trevor Worthington.
"We pitched for this project against other engineering teams in the Ford world, and completing this job in the manner and to the standard we have is something to be proud of. It speaks volumes about our local skill level and expertise - we have been, in effect, exporting knowledge, know-how and skills developed through our own Falcon and Territory programmes."
Ford engineers completed 700,000km of test driving, a large proportion of which was done in India.
"Indian roads are quite unlike anything we have in Australia. Whilst they are sealed, they are generally of a poor quality, featuring coarse uneven 'choppy' surfaces," said Mr. Worthington.
Climatic extremes also influenced the design elements of the vehicle – the Fiesta had to cope with searing summer temperatures, but also contend with monsoonal floods.
"A capability for Fiesta to be able to operate in, or literally wade through flooded roads for a short distance, was a unique necessity," added Worthington.
In addition to unique road conditions, designing a car for Indian customers presented its own swath of cultural considerations.
These included a requirement for additional head space in the vehicle – to allow room to allow for men's turbans – and also a special shelf on the instrument panel on which a religious idol could be placed.
"I know a lot of the team have a new understanding and appreciation of Indian customs and beliefs," said Mr. Worthington.
"In that respect, it was an excellent exercise in learning to work with a large number of people across a variety of cultures – it was a real lesson it cultural diversity.
The Indian Ford Fiesta features distinctive exterior styling, contemporary interiors, an exciting range of colours and a host of cutting edge technologies, including a choice of either a 1.4L or 1.6L Duratec petrol or 1.4L Duratorq TDCi diesel engine. It will be built at the Ford plant in Chennai.
The new model will enable Ford India to compete more aggressively in a steadily growing market, which is heading towards one million new vehicle sales this year. Based on the strength of Fiesta, Ford India is hoping to double its sales to 50,000 in 2006.
The Nuts And Bolts of A New Fiesta
There were many intricacies associated with developing a unique Fiesta for an emerging market such as India – not least of which was that almost all engineers who worked on the project had never been there, let alone driven on the roads their vehicle was destined to operate on.
"Now that we've been involved in a process lasting more than three years and incorporating numerous trips between the two countries, it's not surprising that a large number of our 150 strong team now think of India as a second home," said Asia Pacific B Car Chief Nameplate Engineer for the India four door Fiesta, Murray Dietsch.
"It was an important early objective to get the engineering team to India, so they had a thorough understanding and appreciation of the conditions Fiesta was expected to perform in."
Extensive market and consumer familiarisation by the Ford Australia team helped establish a defined set of program objectives. Targets included leadership in style, a spacious and classy interior package, spirited performance and leadership in driving dynamics.
One important consideration revealed by the focus groups was a number of specific needs prioritised by Indian motorists, which were very different to those of their Australian or European counterparts.
"Indian roads can be very bumpy, and traffic is on occasion slow moving. It is important to Indian motorists that the suspension of the vehicle is compliant enough to absorb impacts experienced on coarse road surfaces and potholes, without upsetting the balance of the car and all the while maintaining driving dynamics," said Mr Dietsch.
"There are also many roadside hazards, which can result in low speed frontal impacts. Most of these are caused by stray dogs darting into the path of the car, so the Fiesta team devised a robust system design which aimed to prevent fluid loss following such an impact. The 'dog bar' was born, and subsequently incorporated into the front bumper design of the vehicle."
While existing European architecture formed the basis of the India Fiesta, the design team was able to utilise the powerful capabilities of Ford Motor Company computer aided design (CAD) facilities to fine tune the new model. CAD models were used extensively to model a wide variety of operating conditions and parameters.
For the Fiesta program, approximately 214,000,000 central processing unit (CPU) seconds, equivalent to 2477 days or 4.3 years continuously running on a single CPU, were utilised to analyse and verify crash performance. Over 400 virtual crash simulations were run during the development of the program.
Real world testing was carried out around the globe. Extensive testing in nine different countries and 25 locations was undertaken, including Ford Australia's You Yangs Proving Ground, hot weather testing in the Australian outback through to crash tests in Sweden.
In total, some 700,000 test kilometres were completed, with nine Fiesta durability vehicles covering 240,000km in Australia alone.
"To ensure integrity of our tests, we actually imported 42,000 litres of Indian fuel for use in engine and durability testing," said Mr Dietsch.
The end result is a vehicle based on global technologies, fine tuned for a specific market and which delivers on the key targets identified at the start of the program.
"It proves that a popular and successful model can be modified and enhanced for local conditions, whilst maintaining the features and attributes of an internationally critically acclaimed motor vehicle," said Mr Dietsch.
"The India Fiesta was specially designed and engineered to create a world class four door sedan, with a distinctive Indian influence."
