Ford dealers in India are staring at huge losses with the automaker deciding to shut production in the country with immediate effect, automobile dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. Terming the company decision as shocking, the industry body noted that the dealers have invested over Rs 2,000 crore in creating sales infrastructure while employing around 40,000 people across the country. "The auto retail fraternity is really shocked to hear another Ford India's announcement where it has said that it will shut down production with immediate effect," FADA president Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement.
In a boost to the electric vehicle boom in India, Taiwanese major Hon Hai Technology Group (aka Foxconn) is likely to set up an EV manufacturing unit in India through its subsidiary Foxtron. Amid speculation that the company may look at Tamil Nadu and probably the Ford India unit near Chennai for its new facility, sources indicate that the group was already betting big in the electric vehicle component space in India through Bharat FIH, which is already having a tie up with companies like Ola Electric and Ather. Bharat FIH currently has two manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur that manufactures phones like Apple iPhones and Xiaomi phones.
Ford's India boss, shares that the success of the Indian market so far has also come with its share of challenges.
At least 50 per cent of the 2,000-odd employees at Ford's Chennai factory have agreed to restart work at the unit, a Ford India official said on Monday. The plant had to shut down due to a staff strike that started on May 30. The company also warned protesting workers of loss of pay, effective June 14, and urged them to get back to the shopfloor. Ford said it would continue to hold talks with the unions.
The automotive business includes vehicle manufacturing plants of Ford India in Chennai and Sanand.
US auto major Ford Motor Co will shut its two manufacturing plants in India and will sell only imported vehicles in the country as part of a restructuring exercise, according to people aware of the development. The company, which invested about USD 2.5 billion at its Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Sanand (Gujarat) plants, will stop selling vehicles such as the EcoSport, Figo and Aspire which are produced from these plants. Going ahead, it would only sell imported vehicles like Mustang in the country.
As part of the new Central Motor Vehicle Rules, the government is framing a mandatory recall policy entailing penalties.
Earlier in May, Ford India announced that it had dropped its plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) in India, which it intended to export, under the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). Ford was among 20 companies that had signed a Champion OEM Incentive Scheme under the PLI project with the government in February this year. The decision comes as a blow for the 4,000-odd employees at Ford India's Maraimalai Nagar plant near Chennai and in Sanand, Gujarat. In September last year, the company had announced that it would exit the India market, which it had entered in 1995 through an on-again, off-again joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra (they split in 1998, signed a JV in 2019 and split again in December 2020), retailing petrol and diesel brands such as the EcoSport, Figo, Aspire, and Endeavour.
The US auto giant Ford Motor on Tuesday said it would post profits at its Indian unit from this year, with a strong sales growth of its mid-size sedan 'Ikon' in the market.
Both are finding it difficult to sell one each of their plants -- Chennai Maraimalai Nagar (Ford) and Talegaon near Pune (GM) -- and are finding the road blocked by employee severance snarl-ups, report Sohini Das and Shine Jacob.
Ford, which had announced to quit the Indian market last year, said it was exploring the possibility of using one of its plants in India to produce electric cars for exports.
In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, US auto major Ford has asked its 10,000 employees in India, except those in business-critical roles, to work from home, a step which has also been taken up by Swedish luxury car maker Volvo. A Ford India spokesperson said, in recent days, the company has concluded that the issue of coronavirus has taken on a different dimension.
The revised prices enhances the accessibility of these outstanding products, which offer segment-first safety features and class-leading technologies
India has exported passenger vehicles worth $268 million to the US in three months ended June
After GM's India exit, Ford-Mahindra 'strategic alliance' under spotlight.
The company, which had launched the model last year, has so far sold more than 60,000 units of the SUV in the country.
The new look Ford Figo will have smoky stealth finish exterior styling elements, including 14 inch alloy wheels, fog lamp bezels and rear bumper valance.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday visited auto major Ford India's upcoming manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
The company did not clarify if the software error affects only domestic sales or exports from the plant as well
Ford launches all-new Figo, price starts at Rs 4.29 lakh.
Sanand plant exported 78,930 cars. The one at Chennai exported 79,539 units of EcoSport model
The new EcoSport 'Platinum Edition' will be sold in both fuel variants
The recall will impact different batches of Figo and Classic models manufactured between January 2010 and June 2012.
The company had drawn flak from different quarters for the posters, one of which also depicted socialite Paris Hilton hauling the three Kardashian sisters in the trunk of the Figo hatchback.
Tata Motors, Ford, Nissan, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, BMW, Renault and Isuzu have also announced price hike from next month citing impact of increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.
The 1,14,000 affected vehicles will be repaired free of charge at GMI's 280 dealers, the company said.
Ford India head, Joginder Singh, is confident that the new SUV will reverse the trend of falling sales.
Even as it is struggling to run its existing plants at half their capacity, due to dwindling sales, Ford India is pressing ahead with its Rs 4,000-crore vehicle and engine plant in Gujarat.
Share of diesel vehicles has been on the rise in the overall vehicle sales in the country.
New Ford Fiesta will give firm competition to others in the C segment.
Figo Aspire will be the company's first ever sub-4 meter sedan.
Auto component makers in India are bracing for a tough time. High absenteeism among workers owing to Covid-19, shortages of critical parts, and temporary closures of plants by automobile manufacturers have thrown a spanner in the works for the Rs 3.2-trillion sector, which derives 60 per cent of its revenues from automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), with the balance split equally between replacement demand and exports. Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday said it was extending the maintenance shutdown, which was from May 1 to 9, till May 16, "keeping in view the current pandemic situation". Some activities will continue in the plants.
Ford expects the sagging car demand to get a boost during the forthcoming festive season.
Days after Ford Motor chairman and CEO Bill Ford promised fresh investments for India, the company said it will be pumping in $75 million (around Rs 330 crore) for expanding operations.
In one of biggest ever such exercises in the country, Ford India on Monday said it has recalled over 1.28 units of its best selling Figo and Classic cars to rectify problems related to steering and rear suspension.
The price of the new petrol variant starts at Rs 686,000, while the diesel one begins with Rs 782,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Since a couple of months, Ford India is busy giving a makeover to its cars.
Auto maker Ford India on Thursday said it has hiked prices by 1-5 per cent on different models with immediate effect to offset rising input costs.
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