Ford And Mahindra End Collaboration On All Projects In India: Report

Ford India and Mahindra & Mahindra have reportedly put an end to all their collaborations and will no longer work on any joint projects. The two carmakers, who had initially announced their plan to create a joint venture to develop new products for India and other emerging markets, called off the JV a few months ago. The companies said that the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were one of the main reasons for the decision. Much recently, Ford had even decided to not use Mahindra-sourced powertrains in its future products, which include the Hyundai Creta rivalling compact SUV, codenamed BX772, and a new sub-4 metre SUV codenamed - BX744.

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Ford and Mahindra had jointly decided not to proceed with the proposed JV in late 2020

Calling off the joint venture, the companies had said that they expected to make a decision by the end of March on whether to continue with all or some of the projects under a new relationship or end all talks. And they have seemingly chosen the latter. Earlier when we reached out to Ford for a comment on the collaboration with Mahindra for future projects, a company spokesperson said, "We announced on Dec 31, 2020, that Ford and Mahindra had jointly decided not to proceed with the proposed JV. As part of winding down our relationship, a number of cooperative product programs will no longer proceed. We are currently re-scoping those product programs." carandbike reached out to Mahindra and Mahindra for a statement but the email remains uunanswered

Also Read: Ford, Mahindra Call Off Auto Joint Venture

Under the proposed deal, which would have ended most of Ford's independent operations in India, the companies planned to co-develop several new products, including 3 new UVs under the Ford brand starting with a new mid-size SUV that will have a common platform and powertrain shared by the companies. The plan included a C-segment SUV based on Mahindra's platform, a B-segment SUV based on Ford's platform, and a new MPV as well.

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Ford has said that its independent India operations will continue, and recent reports have suggested that the company plans to rely on its own set of engines and products for India. However, this decision is expected to cause a delay of at least 6 months for its upcoming SUVs, which were slated to be launched in Financial Year 2022-23.