Ford to revive manufacturing plant in Chennai after two years; focus on exports for global markets

Chennai: Three years after its sudden exit from India, global automobile giant Ford announced on Friday its intention to revive its dormant manufacturing facility in Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai to roll out cars for the export market.

The announcement by Ford comes two days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met a senior team from Ford in Chicago, US, and requested the company to restart manufacturing at the plant which is spread over an area of 350 acres.

“This step aims to underscore our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets,” Kay Hart, president, Ford International Markets Group.

This strategic move will see the facility repurposed to focus on manufacturing for export to global markets, as part of the company’s ambitious Ford+ growth plan.

Ford currently employs 12,000 individuals in Global Business Operations in Tamil Nadu, a number that is expected to grow by 2,500 to 3,000 jobs within the next three years.

Deccan Herald had on September 12 reported that Ford will only manufacture cars for the export market, not domestic market, after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met senior leadership of the global automobile giant. Ford had exited the India market in 2021 citing losses after it failed to make its business model success in the highly price sensitive Indian market.

Industries Minister T R B Rajaa called the announcement as a result of a year of constant interactions and consistent pitches under the guidance of Stalin. “Our CM's efforts to showcase TN's manufacturing prowess, its abundant talent pool and the efforts he has taken to reposition #BrandTamilNadu in its rightful #NumeroUno Place has yielded rich dividends,” he added.

The US-headquartered automobile major had in 2022 indicated that it might enter the Indian market yet again with a couple of electric vehicle (EV) models and utilise the Maraimalai Nagar plant but went back on its decision the same year. The company was also in talks with JSW Group in 2023 to sell the plant but the deal was called off at the last minute, while Vietnam’s VinFast considered the facility before setting its shop in Thoothukudi in southern Tamil Nadu.

At one point, Morris Garages of the UK was also interested in buying the plant, but none of the deals came through. Spread over an area of 350 acres, the company had an annual production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines.

Ford was one of the first global auto giants to set shop in India in the 1990s by building a massive production unit in Maraimalai Nagar. The entry of Ford, one of the iconic automobile brands of the US, into Chennai laid the foundation stone for the city emerging as India’s very own Detroit.

After Ford came to Chennai in 1995, top car makers like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BMW, and others flocked to the city making it an automobile hub of the country. Tata Motors had in March pledged to invest Rs 9,000 crore for a car manufacturing unit in Ranipet district near Chennai.