According to a report on the Economic Times, Ford India will soon start exporting cars from its Sanand plant in Gujarat to Europe. Exports to Europe are expected to start in early-2016.

Kel Kearns, manager of Ford India’s Sanand plant, confirmed the development. He said that the plant already exports cars to markets in Mexico, South Africa and Middle East. The Sanand plant makes the new Figo hatchback, the Figo Aspire compact sedan, and a full-size sedan of the Figo which is purely for export markets.

Spread over 460 acres, the plant has a capacity of 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per annum. Initially, the Sanand plant was making 250 units a day, and has now increased output to 400 units a day, however the plant is still working on a single shift operation.

For the European market, Ford India is likely to supply the Figo hatchback, which could be badged the ‘Ford Ka’. The hatchback will rival the likes of the Suzuki Swift, Nissan Micra and Hyundai i10 in Europe. Engine options could include the 1.5-liter Ti-VCT petrol or the 1.2-liter Ti-VCT which comes with a 5-speed manual transmission.