The Figo after it was unveiled in Delhi recently. (AP)

Ford has opened its second outlet in the city, banking on the projected “robust demand” for its small hatch Figo which will be commercially launched in the first quarter of 2010.

Victoria Ford, on the EM Bypass, was inaugurated last Friday by Michael Boneham, the president and managing director of Ford India.

He also unveiled the revamped Endeavour, with new body graphics and headlights.

“We are strengthening our dealership network before the Figo arrives in the market,” said Boneham. Victoria Ford is the company’s 136th outlet in the country. “The figure will grow to 150 by the year-end,” he said.

The Bypass showroom, near the Ruby roundabout, has 5,000sq ft of display space and a 55,000sq ft workshop. “It is the largest of all automobile workshops in Calcutta,” said Pankaj Lohariwal, the director of Victoria Ford.

The automobile major, with two dealerships in the city and one in Siliguri in its kitty, is eyeing outlets in Durgapur, Patna and Dhanbad. “The Patna dealership will be our first footprint in Bihar,” said Boneham.

Talking about Figo, which was unveiled in Delhi last month, the managing director said: “The car meets all the small car specifications laid down by the Centre. It is sub-4m in length and will have a 1.2l petrol engine and a sub-1.5l diesel engine.”

Boneham did not specify the price of the new car but said Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors hatches would be “Figo’s direct competitors”.

To keep the price competitive and the cost of ownership low, Figo will have 85 per cent local components. Sources said the company had invested $300 million in an engine plant in Chennai which will turn into an engine hub for Ford in the Asia Pacific region.

Ford India hopes the Figo debut would result in 8 to 10 per cent rise in sales in the small car-dominated eastern market, which now contributes only five per cent to the company’s national sales figures.

Officials said Ford was also going to introduce a new model every 12-18 months to add to its existing portfolio of Ikon, Fiesta, Fusion and Endeavour.