The Ford Endeavour is now available only in 3 variants, all of which come with an automatic gearbox. Hence. the SUV is not available with a manual gearbox as of now. Interestingly, the company had made similar changes to the Endeavour lineup last year as well, but had later turned them around by re-introducing the manual variants.
As of now, the official Ford India website is showing just three variants of the Ford Endeavour. These include 2.2L 4×2 AT Trend, 2.2L 4×2 AT Titanium, and 3.2L 4×4 AT Titanium. Meanwhile, the 2.2L 4×2 MT Trend, 2.2 4×4 MT Trend and 3.2 4×4 AT Trend variants have been removed from the lineup.
Ford India has been making changes to the Endeavour’s variant lineup from over a year now. The entry level 2.2 4×2 MT Trend variant was discontinued in 2016. In June 2017, the company had made yet another lineup change, with the SUV being offered only in three automatic variants. Later, two manual variants resurfaced in the Endeavour’s price list, while a sunroof was also added to the 2.2L 4×2 AT Titanium variant in January this year.
These frequent changes are a result of poor sales of the Endeavour, with the SUV clocking just 500 units every month. Hence, Ford India has to minimize its inventory levels by adding and removing variants depending on its production levels and component availability.
Sadly though, such frequent changes can project a poor image on a customer’s mindset. Someone looking to buy a 30 lakh+ SUV is bound to take a few months in finalizing the purchase. Imagine a customer interested in the Endeavour visiting the Ford dealership a few months later and realising that the variant he was interested in has now been discontinued! He goes ahead with the next best variant choice, and a few months later, his preferred variant option re-appears on the Ford India website. The trauma and setback for a customer in such scenarios can not only break a product, but even the brand!
The Ford Endeavour is a great SUV for its price. But Ford India is continuously messing up its marketing and strategy, leading to a sales slowdown.