Ford representatives have been in negotiations with the state government for more than six months now. “It is too early to comment but negotiations are on for the last several months and multiple visits (from the Ford Motor team) have been there,” said a senior government source.
Sources say a top level Ford team is likely to visit India this month and the idea is to take a final call on both the company's India plans as well as the Maraimalai Nagar plant in the outskirts of Chennai. There have been reports of Ford looking at an India re-entry and considering both ICE (internal combustion engine) as well as EV production at the plant but there has been no definitive confirmation on that front yet.
When contacted, the Ford spokesman in India denied that there is an imminent visit planned. He did not comment on the rest of the matter.
The buzz around Ford’s India return has become stronger after the company filed for a design patent for its new Endeavour. The rugged SUV had been a bestselling product in its earlier avatar in India. There has been a strong buzz about Ford bringing both premium ICE products like the new Endeavour as well as premium EV products in the CBU or knocked down version.
Ford exited India three years ago despite investing more than USD 2 billion in the market and having bestselling models like the EcoSport and Endeavour in its stable. Since then, there have been multiple reports of other OEMs showing an interest in the Maraimalai Nagar plant but nothing has fructified so far.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
