Ford India sees domestic sales in April fall almost 26 per cent, announces three new cars for 2015

American car maker Ford's India sales in April slumped by a fourth to 4,931 units against 6,651 units in the same month last year.

However, what brought some cheer to the company is the steady growth in its exports, from 6,646 units in April 2014 to 9,284 vehicles this April.

Overall with domestic sales exports combined, the company grew a fair 6.9 per cent.

The company's forecast for the coming months is gloomy. "The current economic environment is still a mixed bag with inflation easing but weak monsoon, coupled with high interest rates, can potentially put pressure on vehicle sales in the coming months," Anurag Mehrotra, Executive Director foe marketing, sales and service at Ford India remarked in a prepared statement to the media. "We expect the demand to improve towards the last quarter of 2015."

Mehrotra further said the company would launch three new products in the next 12-15 months.

That's something Ford India desperately needs. The company has seen two spurts of growth in the past five years.

The first growth spurt came with the introduction of the hatchback Figo in 2010. The second was brought by the compact SUV Ecosport in mid-2013.

The two growth spurts were followed by periods of fall in sales. Year 2014/15 was one such, where the company's sales in India fell 11 per cent.

New cars will give Ford the growth push it needs.

At the same time, the company has taken steps to increase its reach. During the past month, it opened new facilities in Aizawl, Mizoram and Pathankot, Punjab.