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2018 Ford Aspire undercuts rivals on price

Ford has brought out the facelifted Aspire compact sedan with prices ranging between Rs 5.55-8.49 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). What’s interesting is that, despite the cosmetic changes, additional equipment and new petrol engines (and a new automatic as well), the updated Aspire actually costs less than the outgoing model.
The previous Aspire’s base petrol trim retailed at Rs 5.72 lakh, while the new model starts at Rs 17,000 less. The diesel Ambiente trim, meanwhile, is now Rs 38,000 more affordable, retailing at Rs 6.45 lakh. This decrease in price is quite interesting considering the Ambiente trim on the new Aspire gets more safety kit as standard like rear parking sensors and seat belt reminders for the front seats.
The Trend trims, priced at Rs 5.99 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.89 lakh for the diesel, are significantly cheaper than the outgoing model’s respective variants, with prices decreasing

Variant-wise prices (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Ford AspireMaruti Suzuki DzireHyundai XcentTata TigorTata ZestHonda Amaze
Base trim (petrol)Rs 5.55 lakhRs 5.60 lakhRs 5.65 lakhRs 5.06 lakhRs 5.54 lakhRs 5.81 lakh
Mid-spec trims (petrol)Rs 5.99-6.79 lakh (Rs 8.49 lakh AT)Rs 6.48-7.10 lakh (Rs 6.95-7.57 lakh AT)Rs 6.34-6.92 lakh (Rs 7.20 lakh AT)Rs 5.41-6.18 lakh (Rs 6.23 lakh AT)Rs 6.25-6.44 lakhRs 6.61-7.21 lakh (Rs 7.51-8.11 lakh AT)
Top-spec trim (petrol)Rs 7.24 lakhRs 8.00 (Rs 8.47 AT)Rs 7.68 lakhRs 6.49 lakh (Rs 6.65 AT)Rs 7.04 lakhRs 7.69 lakh
Base trim (diesel)Rs 6.45 lakhRs 6.58 lakhRs 6.57 lakhRs 5.94 lakhRs 6.49 lakhRs 6.91 lakh
Mid-spec trims (diesel)Rs 6.89-7.69 lakhRs 7.46-8.08 lakh (Rs 7.93-8.55 lakh AT)Rs 7.32-7.85 lakhRs 6.27-7.06 lakhRs 7.28-7.55 lakh (Rs 8.15 lakh AT)Rs 7.71-8.31 lakh (Rs 8.51-8.79 lakh AT)
Top-spec trim (diesel)Rs 8.14 lakhRs 8.98 lakh (Rs 9.45 lakh AT)Rs 8.61 lakhRs 7.37 lakhRs 8.06 lakh (Rs 8.97 lakh AT)Rs 9.11 lakh
Also see: by Rs 34,000 and Rs 55,000, respectively. Comparing the pre-facelift and refreshed models, the new one misses out on front fog lamps but are available with a music system with four speakers and Aux-in, USB and Bluetooth compatibility, power adjustable wing mirrors and a rear centre armrest.
The Trend+ is a new trim, costing between Rs 6.39 lakh and Rs 7.29 lakh, and does not have an equivalent variant on the pre-facelift model. Features such as front fog lamps, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that doubles as a reverse camera display, steering-mounted audio controls, a rear defogger and an automatic climate control system are on offer.
Prices for the mid-spec Titanium variants are nearly the same as the previous model – the petrol-manual is now Rs 15,000 more at Rs 6.79 lakh, the diesel-manual is just Rs 6,000 less, while the petrol-automatic costs Rs 20,000 less. The decrease in the price of the automatic trim can be attributed to the lower cost of the new 6-speed torque convertor automatic transmission vis-à-vis the older model’s 6-speed dual-clutch unit. The only change in terms of equipment on the Titanium trim is the addition of a push-button start. Kit such as power folding and adjustable wing mirrors, driver’s seat height adjust and the extra safety features on the automatic (hill-start assist, ESP and traction control) continue to be part of the package.
The top-spec Titanium+ variant on the Aspire facelift costs Rs 11,000 less in petrol-spec and Rs 32,000 less in diesel-spec, despite the addition of kit like automatic headlamps and wipers.
Compared to its competition, Ford has priced the new Aspire quite aggressively. Maruti Suzuki’s Dzire retails between Rs 5.60 lakh and Rs 9.45 lakh, the Honda Amaze costs between Rs 5.81 lakh and Rs 9.11 lakh and Hyundai’s Xcent is priced at Rs 5.61-8.61 lakh. The only compact sedans that are priced lower than the Aspire are the two Tata cars – the Tigor (Rs 5.06-7.36 lakh) and the Zest (Rs 5.54-8.97 lakh).
There is no doubt that the compact sedan segment is currently ruled by the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, in terms of sales. The Maruti has registered sales of 96,467 units from May to August 2018, while Honda sold 38,716 units of the Amaze and Hyundai managed to sell just 16,967 units of the Xcent. Meanwhile Tata’s compact sedans, the Tigor and Zest, sold 9,615 units and 3,902 units, respectively.
Ford’s aggressive pricing strategy should pay off. Competent as the older Aspire was, it didn’t sell in the number it deserved to, with only 3,949 units going home to buyers from May to August 2018.

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