Ford confirms restart of manufacturing in India

Ford Motor Company has just announced that it has submitted a Letter of Intent to the Tamil Nadu Government, thereby confirming its intentions of restarting manufacturing operations in India. This comes after officials from Ford Motor Company had multiple meetings with the Tamil Nadu government to discuss feasibility plans of reviving its Chennai plant.

The plan, for now, is to manufacture for exports, and while the company hasn’t explicitly stated any production plans for domestic sales, Autocar India has previously exclusively reported that a market launch of the new Everest is being closely looked at as a fully imported vehicle, along with a made-in-India affordable EV platform at a later stage.

1. Ford’s Chennai plant to be repurposed for export manufacturing
2. Domestic sales of fully imported cars expected to be on cards too

On September 11, MK Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, met officials from Ford Motor Company, following which, he tweeted, “Had a very engaging discussion with the team from Ford Motors! Explored the feasibility of renewing Ford’s three-decade partnership with Tamil Nadu, to again make in Tamil Nadu for the world!”

In March 2024, Ford Motor Company’s president, International Markets Group, Kay Hart, had visited India, hinting at the American brand’s comeback in the country. The company has now confirmed that the Chennai facility will be repurposed for export manufacturing.

“We are grateful for the ongoing support from the Tamil Nadu Government as we explored different options for the Chennai plant. 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,” said Hart in an official statement.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin with the Ford Motor Co team.

The company has stated that it currently employs 12,000 individuals in Global Business Operations in Tamil Nadu which is expected to grow by 2,500 to 3,000 jobs in the next three year. Ford also continues to manufacture engines for export from its Sanand facility on lease from Tata Motors. Together, Ford says, India represents the second-largest salaried workforce worldwide for the company.

Ford stopped making cars in India domestically, in 2021, after grappling to bolster volumes and ceased export production in 2022. Ford sold one of the two plants in India to Tata Motors in 2023, and its other plant in Chennai was closed. The company, however, is yet to share more details on the exact type of manufacturing and the markets to which the vehicles will be exported.  

Also See:

Exclusive! JLR, Tata Motors to jointly make and export EVs from India

How Tata’s first EV was conceived in just a year’s time, recalls N Chandrasekaran