Ford India expands diesel engine capacity at facility near Chennai
18 Jul 2012
Ford India has expanded the diesel engine production capacity at its plant in Maraimalainagar, near Chennai, in a bid to address the supply constraint it faced early this year.
In the first quarter of the year, Ford India's Chennai plant fell short on meeting the demand for diesel power-trains with customers having to wait for three months to have their cars delivered.
Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India said, with the expansion, the waiting period would reduce to two-three weeks, adding the company hoped this would boost Figo and Fiesta sales.
The plant can now roll out 3.4 lakh engines a year – up from 2.5 lakh in 2010 and can also produce 2 lakh cars every year.
The expansion has upped manufacturing capacity by 80,000 diesel engines at an outlay of $72 million, taking the total diesel engine capacity at the plant to 1.6 lakh units; with petrol engines accounting for the rest.
The move comes close on the heels of the government proposing an increase in tax on diesel-powered vehicles.
Boneham said the company had a flexible single crank line that could produce both diesel and petrol engines.
He added if customer preferences swung back (to petrol), the company could respond, but if there was a huge pendulum swing in policy, no manufacturer could respond quickly.