After many reports over the course of the year about Ford making a return to India, it seems like there is finally some light on the matter. MK Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, earlier today, tweeted about having a meeting with Ford officials, in order to renew its three-decade partnership with the state. This subsequently revealed that the American automaker is exploring the possibility of resuming its manufacturing activities in India, at its plant in Maraimalai Nagar, Chennai. However, the tweet also hints at Ford solely building cars in India for export purposes and states nothing about the company returning to India as a seller of cars.
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Rumours have surfaced over the years that Ford is all set to return to India in its second innings and that it will soon begin offering its products for sale in the market. Sightings of Ford vehicles here over the years such as the third-generation Everest (earlier sold in India as the Endeavour), and the Ranger pickup truck have only added fuel to the fire.
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Vehicles such as the Ford Everest and Ranger have been spotted in India
Ford India announced its decision to cease local vehicle manufacturing in 2021, discontinuing the sales of its made-in-India vehicles such as the Ford Figo, Freestyle, Aspire, EcoSport and Endeavour. The main reason for this was the declining sales of its products which no longer made it profitable for the brand to locally manufacture its vehicles here. When it exited the Indian market, the company had a market share of less than 2 per cent and had reportedly accumulated operating losses of more than $2 billion in the 10 years it has been in India.
Also Read: Tata Motors Begins Production At Sanand Plant
The company’s Sanand manufacturing facility was acquired by Tata Passenger Mobility Limited (TPEML), the EV subsidiary of Tata Motors, in a deal valued at Rs 725.7 crore. The carmaker had completed the acquisition process in January 2023. In January 2024, after making extensive changes, Tata announced that the production of passenger vehicles had commenced. This facility added a further 3 lakh units per annum production capacity to Tata’s overall passenger vehicle production capacity.
