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.
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.
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.
The automotive business includes vehicle manufacturing plants of Ford India in Chennai and Sanand.
Europe's top-end car maker Volvo is planning an onslaught on the Indian market on the back of Ford India Ltd. Ford India's parent, the US-based Ford Motor, owns Volvo's car business.
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.
Since a couple of months, Ford India is busy giving a makeover to its cars.
Tata Motors has inked a pact to acquire Ford India's Sanand-based manufacturing plant for Rs 725.7 crore, as it aims to bolster its passenger vehicle production capacity. As part of the deal, Tata Motors will get the entire land and buildings, vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment situated therein, the Mumbai-based auto major said in a statement. The deal also includes the transfer of all eligible employees, it added.
'It is daunting, for sure, because you're rowing upstream.'
Whether it's Carrefour, Ford, or other foreign majors, they are ready to adjust their strategies and design their plans in a way that would address the Indian consumption story.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday visited auto major Ford India's upcoming manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
Automotive major Ford India Pvt Ltd on Wednesday said it would launch a new premium car in India by the end of this calendar year and announced the appointment of Aravind Mathew, as the new chief for Indian operations.
Seventy years after Pather Panchali released on August 26, 1955, we finally get it. Shuttling between the village of Boral and a studio in Calcutta, caught between worrying about the next purse of funds and wondering which item to mortgage next, Satyajit Ray was explaining Indians to themselves, discovers Sreehari Nair.
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.
Ford India said on Thursday that it hopes to increase sales this year in a market that is showing signs of growth and an economy that is encouraging.
Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, on Friday announced that it has commenced production at its second factory in Sanand, Gujarat, which it had acquired from Ford India last year. This new facility will unlock an additional manufacturing capacity of 300,000 units per annum, which is scalable to 420,000 units. The new facility is spread over 460 acres and is adjacent to Tata Motors' existing passenger vehicle facility in Sanand.
While Elon Musk's political influence continues to grow, his business empire is witnessing headwinds.
'We announced a $500 million investment plan for India. I have not received a single call from either the US or Bangkok (Ford's Asian centre of operations) asking me to freeze the investment programme or to scale it down,' says Michael Boneham, MD, Ford India.
US carmaker Ford Motor Co, which aims to enter the Indian small car market by 2010, plans to make the country a regional hub for exports, both for the cars and engines.
As Ford Motor Co shuts down its manufacturing plants in India, hundreds of workers will lose jobs.
The company did not clarify if the software error affects only domestic sales or exports from the plant as well
Ford India said on Thursday it will launch the diesel variant of the mid-size Ford Fusion by the third quarter of this fiscal, even as it forecast demand for vehicles softening due to steep interest rates and possible revision in annual sales target.
The company, which had launched the model last year, has so far sold more than 60,000 units of the SUV in the country.
After Chennai, it is Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchirappalli, that are emerging as manufacturing hubs. Coimbatore is India's top Tier-II city in terms of the number of GCCs, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
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.
Ford Motor Company expects its sourcing of components from India to double or even treble in the next few years, a top official of the company's Indian subsidiary said on Wednesday.\n\n\n\n
This is the first time in Mustang's 52-year history that the company has launched the model in India.
Tamil Nadu -- often dubbed as India's own Detroit due to its thriving automobile manufacturing ecosystem -- is in no mood to miss the EV bus either. Recent developments attest to it. Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast has promised a $2 billion plant in the southern state. And as promised earlier, the work on Tata Motors-JLR plant will kick off next week, on September 28, after the foundation stone laying ceremony.
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.
With India leading the small SUV market and attracting majority of investments from Ford Motor Company, the country is set to become a hub for the US automobile major, a top official said.
With diesel cars set to become costlier from next year with the implementation of stricter BS-VI emission norms, major automakers in India are contemplating about the future of such vehicles in their portfolios.
Ford is expected to start production in two years, said Arvind Mathew, president and managing director, Ford India. The details of the small car, however, are yet to be finalised.
Find out cars that Ford may launch in India and the facelifts it plans for the existing models.
Ford India's commitment to launch a new product in the country every 12-18 months will see the company strengthening its domestic supplier base, as it seeks to keep the costs down while maintaining global quality standards.
Ford India recently exported its 5000th container, thus despatching so far over 100,000 units of Ford Ikons in completely knocked down condition.
Ford India on Friday said it will be increasing the price of its latest small car Figo on account of rising input cost by next week.
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