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.
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.
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.
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 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.
'We participate in the design/development of components and systems for electric vehicles, internal combustion engines, and hybrid vehicles.'
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.
As Ford Motor Co shuts down its manufacturing plants in India, hundreds of workers will lose jobs.
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.
New Fiesta introduced on Thursday is available in both petrol and diesel versions.
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.
Ford Motor India would announce an across the board price hike next month, a top company official said on Wednesday.
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 Motor India said on Monday that it hopes to wipe out its losses this year riding on the growing sales of its mid-size sedan Ikon.
Ford Motor India on Monday said the sales of its flagship model Ikon crossed the 10,000 mark in the first five months this year and the company was poised to post profit in 2004.
The automotive business includes vehicle manufacturing plants of Ford India in Chennai and Sanand.
Ford Motor India plans to hike prices by up to Rs 19,000 on mid-size car Ikon next month after steep increase in steel prices raised input costs and put pressures on margins.
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
Ford launched its new Endeavour for Rs 17.32 lakhs. It is also planning an investment of $500 millio in small car segment in India.
Ford Motor India said on Wednesday that it has firmed up plans to launch 'Fusion' in the next three months as the prototype of the vehicle, a crossover between a car and an MUV, has been developed.
The BJP has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his explanation of decentralisation using a car and motorcycle engine analogy at a university in Colombia.
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.
Ford Motors India has apologised for an ad campaign that showed scantily-clad, voluptuous women gagged, bound and stuffed in the trunk of the car maker's Figo model.
Volvo India is in talks with Ford Motors India to start assembly operations in India.
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.
Highlighting the importance of the Indian market, US auto giant Ford Motor Co on Tuesday had the first public showing of its new mid-size premium car 'Fiesta' with company chairman and CEO Bill Ford promising further investments
Though the Indian passenger car market has been a tough nut to crack, Ford Motor India is planning to launch its future products in the mid and high end car segment and will bring out a new Endeavour in early 2007
He will be succeeded by Joginder Singh, who now heads the Business Services Centre of Ford Motor Company.
Ford Motor India on Wednesday said it would launch its new premium mid-sized sedan 'Fiesta' by November this year in the Indian market.
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.
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.
'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.
Ford India has created waves in the Indian hatchback market with its latest offering the Ford Figo.
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.
Maruti, Tata Motors and Ford Motor India have already made similar announcements.
Tata Motors on Monday said its subsidiary and Ford India have inked a pact with the Gujarat government to acquire FIPL's Sanand vehicle manufacturing plant. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) -- a subsidiary of Tata Motors -- and Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPL) have today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Gujarat government for the potential acquisition of FIPL's Sanand vehicle manufacturing facility, including land, buildings, vehicle manufacturing plant, machinery and equipment, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. The MoU also includes the transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL Sanand's vehicle manufacturing operations, subject to the signing of definitive agreements and receipt of relevant approvals, it added.
The discount offer comes on the back of Japanese giant Honda Siel Cars offering a substantial discount of Rs 800,000 on the Civic Hybrid. HSCI sold 235 Civic Hybrids, which carried a priced tag of Rs 14 lakhs (Rs 1.4 million) after the discount, in 10 days. The offer by Ford will run on the full range of variants of the car for a limited period of 10 days starting Wednesday.
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.
EcoSport will be offered in four variants in petrol and diesel, mated with automatic transmission for effortless driving.
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