Big news with the global reveal of Figo, the all-new Indian-engineered and manufactured small car coming from Ford. Big transformation of India’s manufacturing operations into a regional centre of excellence for manufacturing small cars and low-displacement engines. And a big welcome from more than 5,000 Ford employees in India who had their first chance to meet the company’s president and CEO.

It was standing room only at the Chennai Trade Centre when Mulally took the stage for his first India town hall. It is likely to be a town hall meeting he’ll never forget, as almost every employee of Ford in India was on hand to hear about India’s expanding role within his ONE Ford vision.

It would become what we believe is a record audience for a Mulally town hall meeting anywhere in the world.

“Ford India rocks!” were Mulally’s first words on stage, the first of many electrifying moments for the India team, to which they responded with thundering applause and shouts of approval.  

Ford India is poised to double its production next year with the introduction of Figo, which positions it to compete in the heart of the India car market, 70 percent of which is small cars.

“I wish you could have seen the smiles on the faces of the journalists yesterday,” said Mulally, who recapped for the India team the media event that revealed their Ford Figo to the world.

“What we shared with the press was that we were developing a new small car and we’re doing it right here in India as part of the Ford team,” Mulally said. “This is a big deal because what we also shared, if you look at the markets worldwide, is that about one third of all vehicles purchased will be in the Asia Pacific region. About a third will be in Europe and in Russia. And about a third of the vehicles purchased will be in the Americas – North and South America. The other thing we shared yesterday was that when you look at the size of vehicles worldwide, 60 percent of all the vehicles purchased are going to be in the small-car size – the Figo size.

“Think of the message about that,” Mulally said. “Sixty percent of all the vehicles for the next 20 years are going to be in the small size, just like the Figo. So what were we really announcing yesterday? That Ford of India was leading the entire Ford Motor Company to bring the latest new Ford product. That’s what we were announcing!”

Mulally and Michael Boneham, Ford India president and managing director, revealed the new Figo at the culmination of the town hall meeting. It was a chance for all Ford India employees to see the new vehicle, which is due to go into volume production in Chennai in early 2010.

“Today’s a defining moment for Ford India as we reveal to you our wonderful new car,” Boneham said.  “We’ve come a long way as a team in establishing the Blue Oval here in India, in establishing Ford’s businesses here in India and in building a solid foundation to drive our businesses forward.”

Boneham told the employees Figo will “give us muscle in the heart of the Indian market and marks the beginning of a series of product launches here in Ford India that is part of our accelerated small-car strategy in the Asia Pacific and Africa region.”

“Take a deep breath and you’ve just got to enjoy this,” Mulally said as the covers were about to come off three models of the new Ford Figo in a multimedia reveal production mirroring the previous day’s media event. “This is a very special moment. We’re busy, we’re working hard and we’re going to go right back to work and work hard again, but just take a deep breath and just appreciate everything you have done to get to the place where we’re launching for the world the finest small car.”

Mulally’s appearance was preceded by John Parker, executive vice president, Ford Motor Company Asia Pacific and Africa, who gave an impassioned speech about the significance of India and Ford Figo.

“I’m going to have tough time controlling my emotions because 12 years ago I was privileged to start this company,” Parker said. “It’s been a collective effort to build our operations here in India over the last 12 or 14 years, laying the groundwork for the momentous events that are taking place here today, paving the way for a truly exciting future for Ford in this globally important market. 

“The significance of our Indian operations will now extend well beyond the borders, making an international impact and global contribution to the Ford Motor Company,” he said. “Our extended Chennai facility and volume production will pave the way for Ford Motor Company to start competing in the high-volume B-segment, which represents 70 percent of the sales in this market.”

Parker called the arrival of Ford Figo a dream come true.

“I struggled all the years I was here in India to get into this area of the market so this is the culmination of 12 years of dreams for myself as well as for all of you.”

From Ford India’s leadership team, Joginder Singh, executive director, Global Business Services (GBS), spoke about the pride of his team – about half the employees attending the town hall.

“Consistent with our One Team, One Plan, One Goal objectives, we help to leverage global assets for the benefit of the Ford enterprise,” Singh said. “We help improve and standardise processes across Ford’s business units and all this is done through the great talent we have here today. I am proud to say that GBS is a living, shining example of ONE Ford in practice.”

Mulally, who would later travel to the Chennai plant to view the expanded facilities, spoke of the significance of Ford India’s growth from the perspective of Ford Motor Company’s founder.

“Henry Ford’s vision was that the Ford Motor Company would operate in every country in which they sold vehicles,” he said. “Because his dream was that not only would you get the finest vehicles in the world but you’d get a chance to work for the Ford Motor Company at the same time. And so what we announced yesterday, of course, was that we are expanding the production capability right here in India to over 200,000 vehicles and the engines we’re expanding to 250,000, and we’re going to keep investing and expanding as we profitably grow the business because this is a centre of excellence for the Ford Motor Company.”

Click here to watch the video of Alan Mulally's speech at the Chennai Trade Centre

Click here to see more images of the Ford Figo reveal at the Chennai Trade Centre