Ford India is again planning to sell off its manufacturing units in India, and this time around, it is speculated that Ola is considering buying these plants
Times are tough for Ford in the Indian market. The brand’s line-up currently comprises of five models – Figo, Aspire, Freestyle, EcoSport, and Endeavour. However, the American carmaker is only putting respectable figures on the sales tally for the EcoSport and Endeavour in the Indian market. Earlier, the blue oval was reported to be selling its manufacturing facilities in India.
Well, media houses have reported that the carmaker is again considering selling its Maraimalainagar and Sanand units. If reports are to go by, Ford is in talks with Ola.
As of now, no confirmation has been received from Ola’s end, but Ford India’s spokesperson confirmed to ET Auto, “We would not like to comment on speculations. We continue to assess our capital allocations in India and expect to have an answer in the second half of this year.”
Currently, Ford is evaluating the options of capital investments at a slow pace. The brand was in talks with Mahindra & Mahindra last year for an alliance wherein the American carmaker’s annual production capacity of 4,00,000 units was to be used by the Indian UV giant. Sadly, the JV didn’t come into action for reasons that were never revealed.
Last year, Ford had interactions with Chinese carmakers – Changan, MG, and Great Wall. While the Chinese carmakers were initially quite keen on investing in the Indian market and introduce a slew of products, they pulled plugs on the plans due to geopolitical conflicts between India and China.
Ford currently has two production facilities in India, located in Sanand and Chennai. Talking of their production capacities, the Chennai-based unit has an annual production capacity of 2 lakh cars and 3.5 lakh engines. The Sanand-based factory, on the other hand, can produce 2.4 lakh cars and 2.7 lakh engines annually. However, the American brand could only sell a total of 2,800 units in June this year. The sales figures comprise of 0 units of Figo, 120 units of Aspire, 413 units of Freestyle, 892 units of Endeavour, and 3,511 units of EcoSport.