Ford to revive Tamil Nadu plant for export markets

Chennai: Three years after exiting India, global automotive giant Ford, on Friday, announced the revival of 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 representatives of the company in Chicago, and requested them to restart the plant, spread over an area of 350 acres.

The move is a major win for the Tamil Nadu government’s continuous efforts since 2021 to either push Ford to restart operations or facilitate the company to sell the facility to another automobile company. Tata Motors, MG Motors and Vietnam’s VinFast are some of the automakers that evinced interest in buying the plant, but none of the deals came through. 

“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, said in a statement. 

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

It was not immediately clear whether the company will manufacture just conventional vehicles or produce EVs too. The company said it will release details of how and when it intends to restart operations soon. 

The decision, according to Ford, will add another 2,500 to 3,000 people to its strength in the country over the next 2-3 years, where it employs 12,000 individuals in Global Business Operations in Tamil Nadu.

Ford exited India in 2021 citing losses after it failed to make its business model successful in the highly price sensitive Indian market.

It had indicated in 2022 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.

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. 

Ford’s entry into Chennai in 1995 laid the foundation stone for the city emerging as India’s very own Detroit, as top car makers like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BMW, and others flocked to the city. Tata Motors, in March, pledged to invest Rs 9,000 crore for a car manufacturing unit in Ranipet district near Chennai.