Ford may use Chennai unit for engine exports
Ford is understood to have finalised plans to use its mothballed factory near Chennai to manufacture and export engines and related components, people aware of the development told ET.
Details of the plan will be announced in the second quarter of this year, they said. Vehicle manufacturing is not part of the India strategy.
“Ford is going to be making engines at the Chennai plant,” one of the people said. “It (the facility) will be repurposed for export-focused production. This decision is part of Ford's broader global strategy.”
Ford did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Ford stopped producing vehicles in India in 2021 and exited the country the following year, after remaining a fringe player for most of its two-and-a-half-decade-long operations in the South Asian country’s fast-growing automobile market.
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The facility at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai has been non-operational since mid-2022.
While there had been discussions for some time about reviving the plant, there was some speculation of late that Ford might shelve its India plans amid the Trump administration’s policies promoting local manufacturing and imposition of import tariffs.
However, two government sources in India said the plans were very much on track, but they refused to divulge information on what products were going to be made at the facility.
“Senior executives at Ford have had high-level discussions with the Tamil Nadu government recently where they reiterated their commitment to India,” said another person, while