Ford India will start a second shift at its Chennai factory from June this year to cater to overwhelming demand for its Figo small car.

“We need to ramp up production of the Figo, and so do our suppliers. We will start a second shift in June which would increase Figo’s output by 30-40 per cent,” managing director Ford India Michael Boneham said at the sidelines of the Indian Automotive event here on Wednesday.

Ford sold 7,210 Figos in March, its launch month. Boneham did not reveal Figo’s daily production at its Chennai factory. Working on two shifts would enhance its Chennai factory’s annual output to 150,000 cars per year of the total installed capacity of 200,000 cars.

The second shift will also entail a hiring of 700 additi­onal workers on the shop floor, Boneham said. Ford’s total workforce in India stands at 3,000 workers.

Automakers who have la­unched small cars this year are seen ramping up production to cater to higher demand. GM, which launc­hed the Beat small car in January, started a second shift at its Talegaon plant in February, adding about 500 workers at the shop floor. Both Figo and Beat have waiting periods of about six weeks, prompting the carmakers to enhance supply.