Ford to set up new $1-bn facility in Gujarat

Ford Motor Co of Detroit yesterday said that it would invest $1 billion (over Rs4,000 crore) in a new facility in Sanand in Gujarat to make cars and engines.

The company signed an agreement with the Gujarat government for the project, which will come up on 460 acres. The twin plants will create 5,000 jobs, according to a company statement.

The state government has prioritised land adjacent to the site – not far from Tata Motors' Nano factory - for supplier operations. Earlier reports suggest the plant may have the capacity to make five lakh (500,000) units a year.

This will be Ford's second plant in India, the first being near Chennai. Ford India makes the hatchback Figo, Fiesta sedan and Endeavour SUV at the Maraimalai Nagar plant, to the south of Chennai, which has been in operation for over a decade. The plant can make over one lakh cars a year and the engine plant is being expanded.

According to the statement, the vehicle manufacturing plant at Sanand will have an initial capacity of 2.4 lakh units and the engine plant an initial annual capacity of 270,000 units.

''Namaste Gujarat!'' said Joe Hinrichs, president and chief executive of Ford Asia-Pacific and Africa, in the statement. ''We are delighted to announce that Ford's newest vehicle manufacturing site will be here in Gujarat. Ford has very aggressive expansion plans in India and in Asia-Pacific and Africa, and these two new plants will be important in realising our growth strategy here in one of the most dynamic regions in the world.''