The importance of the Indian market to the Ford Motor Company was made self evident on September 23rd in New Delhi, as none other than Ford global CEO, Alan Mulally, unveiled their all-new small car, the Figo – on the back of a $500 million USD investment at their manufacturing facility in Chennai.

The Figo, which means ‘cool’ in colloquial Italian, is Ford’s attempt to gain a larger chunk of the growing Indian market by competing at its heart with their first small car. The Figo is built on the same chassis as the existing Fiesta, which, in turn, is built on the previous generation European Fiesta hatch (B256). However, Ford insists that it simply isn’t a case of putting a new body on an existing platform, as they claim to have strengthened and stiffened the chassis considerably. The Figo will come with both diesel and petrol power – with a likely 1.2 petrol and 1.4 diesel.

The Figo has been styled keeping in mind the company’s ‘one Ford’ philosophy, which implies that it should look at home in Europe, as well as India. And while the front end of the car does look attractive and dynamic, the rest of the design doesn’t quite have the same flair. The USPs of the car, according to Ford, will be a fresh design, value-for-money, interior space, and of course, the driving dynamics that we’ve come to expect from the Blue Oval.

The Figo is expected to have an average price in the region of 4 lacs – specifics will be shared at the Auto Expo in January in New Delhi. The Figo will also be exported to select markets in the Asia Pacific and Africa region from Chennai, as Ford aims to use its investment to establish India as a regional center for excellence for the production of small cars and low displacement engines.

Believe it or not, but this very striking car is the all-new Hyundai Sonata – recently released in Hyundai’s home market of South Korea. As you can see by the design, it’s a distinct departure from the somewhat sedate styling of the current car. In keeping with the latest design philosophy of Hyundai, the new Sonata is bold and sleek at the same time. Although, this particular design takes it to an altogether new level – with Hyundai referring to the next-generation Sonata as encompassing their new ‘fluidic sculpture’ design philosophy.

The Hyundai brand has been moving up-market in various parts of the world, with the introduction of legitimate rivals to the likes of BMW and Mercedes – and that intent is clearly visible in the 2010 Sonata as well. The 6th generation Sonata is being launched with a 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder, petrol engine developing 163 horsepower and 146 lb/ft of torque, mated to an all-new 6-speed automatic transmission – additional engine options will be available in 2010. The car will be showcased at the Auto Expo in January in New Delhi, and likely go on sale in India in the middle of next year – at which point it’ll finally be the Honda Accord competitor that Hyundai have long been aiming for.