Ford's small car, Verve, to hit India by end 2008

Ford offers the first hint of its small car design with a model, Verve, to be unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show. It's the first of three subcompact concept vehicles it will showcase in Europe, Asia and North America.

This is what Ford's small car for India might look like. Its chassis is developed by Ford and its Japanese affiliate Mazda Motor Corp. With a European design that's meant to be marketed worldwide, it's smaller than Ford's small car Focus. Ford will exhibit a second similar concept at a car show in China in November. It will showcase a third concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Until a few years ago, Ford, GM and Chrysler made money selling large trucks and SUVs and lost money on most passenger cars. But Japanese carmakers saw potential in the small-car segment. Now virtually every carmaker has a base in India, which is a big small-car market. That's because they recognize the strategic value in subcompact cars for emerging markets like India, China as well as the US.