According to the data release by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, car sales surged by 25 per cent in June 2004 over the same month last year. Take the Rediff Business Quiz and find out how much you know about the automobile sector.
Two years after winding up its India production, global automobile giant Ford Motor Company is in talks with the Tamil Nadu government to restart operations at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai, where it will focus on exports. Chief Minister Stalin visited Ford headquarters in Michigan on Tuesday and held discussions with its top management, urging it to restart production. "Had a very engaging discussion with the team from Ford Motors.
American auto major Ford Motor on Friday said it is preparing to utilise its Chennai manufacturing plant to roll out vehicles for exports and has intimated the same to the Tamil Nadu government. Minister for TRB Rajaa, who is in the United States accompanying the Chief Minister M K Stalin to woo investors, said the efforts of the Chief Minister to reposition 'Brand Tamil Nadu' in its Numero Uno place has yielded rich dividends.
Patel did not specify which part of Michigan the FBI operation took place in. But in a separate social media post on Friday, the police department for the city of Dearborn noted that FBI agents had been active in its community.
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.
'We participate in the design/development of components and systems for electric vehicles, internal combustion engines, and hybrid vehicles.'
The chances of former workers getting jobs depends on the model under which Ford would restart its Chennai plant operations -- under Ford India or as a joint venture or under any other model.
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.
He will be succeeded by Joginder Singh, who now heads the Business Services Centre of Ford Motor Company.
Tata Indica, the Tata Group's big passenger car bet, was not delivering expected returns a year into its launch. Desperate, the Tata Motors brass, led by Ratan Tata, acceded to a meeting request from Ford Motors for a possible sale of the passenger vehicles division to the American auto major. Some people had advised Tata to sell the business, and the Ford officials came to Bombay House to hold talks.
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
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 new millennium has seen a downturn in profits for this brand. But knowing the legacy that is Ford, it can be safely said that success is just around the corner.
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.
Post the completion of expansion programme in mid-2012, the engine plant's production capacity will increase from 2.5 lakh units to 330,000 units per year.
This rating action follows the announcement by Ford Motor Company (Ford, which has a rating-B3/Stable) naming Tata Motors the preferred buyer for Ford's luxury Jaguar and Land Rover car brands.
India's role as an important player in the future of Ford Motor Company's international strategy was underscored on Wednesday when the company's President and CEO Alan Mulally unveiled an all-new small car targetting the Indian car market: the Ford Figo.
'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 auto giant Ford Motor Company has appointed Alan Mulally as president and chief executive offer.
Early this year, Ford displayed SUV-Ecosport at the Auto Expo held in New Delhi.
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.
Alfred B Ford, senior trustee of Ford Motor Company Fund, said on Friday that he was talking to several strategic partners for setting up a Vedic Cosmological Project at Mayapur, West Bengal.
US automobile giant Ford Motor Company on Wednesday said it was seriously considering expanding production of its fuel-efficient hybrid car.
Indian-American Raj Nair, executive vice president and president of Ford North America, has been asked to leave the Detroit-based motor company following allegations of misconduct at work place, has been replaced by another Indian-American, Kumar Galhotra.
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.
Share of diesel vehicles has been on the rise in the overall vehicle sales in the country.
Italian automaker Fiat Auto SpA has an alliance with Ford Motor company to make small cars, a company official said on Friday.
Taking a cue from heavyweights such as BMW, Mercedes and Audi, Ford Motor Company-owned Volvo Car India may use the parents' India facility in Chennai to manufacture and assemble some of its products, reducing their prices substantially.
Mahindra group and Ford Motor Co will jointly develop new SUVs and a small electric vehicle as part of several initiatives to take forward their collaboration pact signed last year.
With Tata Motors subsidiary taking over Ford's passenger vehicle (PV) manufacturing unit at Sanand in Gujarat, uncertainty over the future of Ford's Maraimalai Nagar unit in Tamil Nadu continues, with workers protesting on Thursday demanding a better severance package. There are over 2,000 employees working at the unit. On Thursday, there was a meeting between agitating employees and the state labour department. The workers started protests at the Chennai unit after Tata Passenger Electric Mobility signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with Ford India and the Government of Gujarat for acquisition of Ford's PV manufacturing plant at Sanand.
Ford surely needs something special to improve its fortunes in India -- the new battlefront for the world's top car makers.
Continued adverse global automotive market conditions have resulted in a overall reduction in Jaguar Land Rover volumes during the quarter.
The company is still short of over Rs 4500 crore (Rs 45 billion) to refinance the debt which is due before June 2 this year. The company had planned to raise the fund for refinancing through three routes. It planned to raise about Rs 4200 crore through rights issues which it managed after the issue devolved on underwriters in October as the stock prices were tumbling globally following the economic crisis.
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.
The exercise part of drive to combine operations under single firm.