Ford to boost Indian investment despite slump in car sales
20 Apr 2013
Ford India said today that it would invest $2 million (Rs10.8 crore) this year in both its existing Chennai plant as well as its new plant in Sanand, Gujarat.
Showcasing the Ecosport in Hyderabad on Friday, Joginder Singh, president and managing director of the Indian arm of Ford Motor Co, said his company was committed to investing in its Indian plants, aiming to make them an export centre as well as catering to Indian demand.
He said production capacity at its Chennai plant has been geared up with an assembly line and an engine manufacturing unit.
When the Sanand plant becomes fully operational in 2014, with an investment of about $1 billion, Ford India's two plants would have a combined capacity of 4.4 lakh cars and 6.10 lakh engines annually.
''An estimated 25 per cent of vehicles that roll out from our two plants and 40 per cent of engines put together in India is what we envisage for exports, as part of our long-term strategy,'' he said.
Singh said the slowdown in the Indian automobile market was temporary. He said the company is continually adding more personnel and would increase the headcount to 15,000 next year from 10,000 now.
The sales network was growing too, and the focus is on expanding in Tier-I and Tier-II cities, he said.
