Ford shelves is planning to make EVs in India

The company, which announced in September last year that it would stop production at its two plants in the country as part of a restructuring exercise, said it was exploring other options for its manufacturing facilities in Chennai and Gujarat.

As part of the ongoing business restructuring in India, Ford continues to explore potential options for its manufacturing facilities. This included applying for a production-linked incentive project, which allows us to explore using one of the plants as a potential EV production base, a Ford India spokesperson said.

“After careful review, we have decided to produce RVs for export from any Indian plant. We are grateful to the government for approving our proposal under the Production-Linked Incentive and for helping us continue our exploration, ”the spokesman added.

In February this year, Ford was among 20 automotive companies like Tata Motors, Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia and Mahindra & Mahindra approved for the Rs 25,938 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile industry. .

Regarding the future of the company’s two plants, the spokesperson said, “Ford India is continuing with its previously announced business restructuring plan, which is exploring other options to facilitate our production. We are working closely with the union and other stakeholders to provide a fair and balanced plan to mitigate the effects of the restructuring. ”

While seeking buyers for the Chennai plant, the company is reportedly in talks with domestic auto chief Tata Motors to sell its Sananda plant.

Last year, after nearly three decades of struggle to make a mark in India, Ford Motor Co. decided to stop production at two plants in the country and sell only imported vehicles as part of the restructuring exercise.

The company, which has invested about 2.5 2.5 billion in its Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Sananda (Gujarat) plants, has lost more than 2 2 billion in India.

According to the plan, vehicle assembly at Sananda plant was stopped in the fourth quarter of 2021 and production of vehicles and engines in Chennai will be stopped in the second quarter of 2022.

However, it will continue to manufacture engines from its Sananda plant that will be exported to the company’s global operations.