New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS): Ahead of the 12th Auto Expo, car manufacturer Ford Monday unveiled its compact sedan Ford Figo Concept which is designed for the Indian and other emerging markets.

"Consumers are more demanding than ever, wanting and expecting more from their cars, even if they are first-time buyers," said Nigel Harris, president, Ford India at the global unveiling of the car here.

"They expect and demand great fuel efficiency and low cost-of-ownership from the initial price throughout the life of the vehicle. The Ford Figo Concept offers all of this and more with sophistication, fresh design, world-class quality and safe technology."

According to the company, it hopes to strengthen its presence in the B-segment car portfolio after the success of its hatchback Figo and compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) Ecosport. The company also plans to offer 23 new vehicles globally in 2014 out of which some are expected to be launched in India.

The company said the new car is created for India at less than four metres long. The concept builds on Ford's compact car offerings in India and shows how Ford plans to face rapidly growing global demand for compact vehicles.

"The Figo concept was envisioned with Indian market in mind and created with global standrads of design, quality and performance," said Kumar Galhotra, vice president of engineering, global product development, Ford Motor Company.

The company said the compact car segment is outpacing the industry for the past decade and comprises almost a third of total sales of 2013.

Ford expects the segment in India to grow from about one million units last year to roughly two million units in 2018.