Ford move to European sourced product
Ford move to European sourced product
By Russell Williamson
Ford in Indonesia will begin sourcing its vehicles from Ford of Europe over the next two years.
The first of these products, the Escort, will be on show at the Jakarta Auto Expo and is expected to go on sale in the first quarter of next year.
The Escort is likely to replace the present Mazda-sourced Japanese-built Laser as Ford's small car competitor.
Although PT Bimantara Automotive, the parent company which distributes Ford in Indonesia, has yet to make a decision on whether the free market Laser will disappear, with such small sales volumes and a much better, more modern European product, it seems likely.
The president director of Bimantara, Jongkie Sugiarto, said: "We will see whether the demand of the free market Laser is still there or not and if not, we will discontinue it and replace with the Escort."
He said the Laser would continue in production for taxis because the industry needed the continuity of spare parts for the vehicles and it was a simple vehicle, which could be easily repaired.
The Escort will be offered initially as a four-door sedan but Jongkie said the company may also look at the five-door hatch version if the market demanded it.
Under the hood is a 1600cc low-emission engine from Ford's Zetec-E family.
The 16-valve, 65kW double overhead cam (DOHC) engine provides plenty of torque in the low to mid-rev band, making it a very usable engine.
The Escort will be available with either a manual or automatic transmission and in two trim levels: LX and top-of-the-range Ghia.
In Europe, depending on specifications, the Escort comes with dual air bags, an electronic antilock brake system, height- adjustable seat belts, side-impact protection, power steering, rear fog lamps and central locking.
Also available in Europe is the unique CTX continuously- variable automatic transmission.
This type of transmission dispenses with specific shift points in gear changes and essentially has only one forward gear.
When the accelerator pedal is fully depressed, the engine immediately revs to its maximum and the car accelerates rapidly, until the throttle is released when the desired speed is reached.
The Escort has been widely praised for its low levels of noise vibration and harshness and already meets the European drive-by noise control standards, which will be introduced there next year.
Measures introduced to achieve these low levels include a 40mm-thick acoustic shield under the engine, which not only reduces noise but protects the engine from stones, a stainless steel exhaust system, with extra sound-deadening material and improved door seals.
Vibration has also been reduced through improvements to the suspension mountings and geometry.
Although there has been no price set for the Escort, Jongkie said he hoped they would be able to sell it at about 10 percent lower than the current Laser, which sells for about Rp 71 million.
The Escort is also likely to be joined by its bigger mid-sized European brother, the Mondeo.
This might become available in Indonesia as early as late next year and would replace the current Mazda 626-based Telstar.
The Mondeo offers good interior space for its size and plenty of power from a 2000cc engine.
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Ford's European Escort is likely to replace the Japanese built Laser early next year.