Ford will robotize its plants7/6/2023 ![]() ![]() The fact also remains that Chennai is a better option to Anantapur simply because it offers so much more in terms of hotels, schools, hospitals and easier access to an international airport. “There is a robust vendor base already in place along this belt which is a huge bonus,” he adds. ![]() Neither Kia nor Hyundai have made any statement on expanding elsewhere though an auto industry official says it makes “perfect sense” to consider the Ford plant as an option. Hyundai has been operating out of Sriperumbudur near Chennai for 25 years now and this facility is barely 30km from Ford’s plant in Maraimalainagar. Kia’s plant is located in Anantapur (officially Anantapuramu, according to Wikipedia), Andhra Pradesh, where the nearest international airport is Bengaluru 200km away. There is no official confirmation on this development but assuming there is some truth to the story, it could be in the form of a Hyundai-Kia combine that will step in as the knight in shining armour.Įven though they are part of the Hyundai Motor Group, the two Korean brands are fierce competitors in this market and elsewhere across the world. One of the names doing the rounds is the Hyundai Motor Group which is apparently being sounded out by the TN government to seriously consider acquiring Ford’s plant in Chennai. This was also among the many reasons why Ford decided to shut down manufacturing operations and in this backdrop, who will be ready to step into Chennai and Sanand? Perhaps, Ford will seek to square this up by way of a high ticket price for its plants though the big question remains: will there be any suitors at this point in time? After all, the last 18 months have been extremely difficult for manufacturers thanks to the pandemic.Įven while there is a recovery happening in terms of car sales, the fact remains that the Indian economy was already in the midst of a slowdown before Covid made its presence felt. It has already written off losses exceeding $2 billion (Rs 14,802 crore) in the last decade and will now have to factor in a hefty payout as compensation to employees and dealers. Going by the industry grapevine, the company is not going in for a distress sale and will actually look for a “good price” for both plants. It will, however, continue to make engines at Sanand for its operations worldwide as part of the strategy to use India as a key hub. The assembly elections are due in December 2022 and the ruling BJP will be keen on ensuring that it is back in power.įord has already made it known that car production will continue at both Chennai and Sanand for some months before the closure is initiated. In the case of Sanand, the recently rebooted Gujarat government has not articulated any such intent yet. The ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu has hinted that it will play a proactive role in identifying a buyer but this does not necessarily mean that the existing workforce will also be the latter’s responsibility. The all-electric pickup was only outpaced by the Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s electric rendition of its notable muscle car lineup.Įarlier today, MotorTrend named the Ford F-150 Lightning its Pickup Truck of the Year with a unanimous vote.With Ford in exit mode from India, it remains to be seen what is in store for its two manufacturing plants in Chennai and Sanand. ![]() The F-150 Lightning has been built at the Rouge EV Center since April 2022.įord sold 2,062 units of the F-150 Lightning in November, accounting for 32 percent of the automaker’s EV sales for the month. The implementation of the third production line at the Dearborn Truck Plant took roughly ten months to finalize, but Ford is now prepared for yet another boost in EV production. However, Ford continued to experience high demand for its vehicle and nearly doubled projections once again with plans to build at least 150,000 cars per year in January 2022. While the automaker had planned for an initial annual manufacturing capacity of 40,000 units when the vehicle was first unveiled, Ford doubled this to 80,000 vehicles annually by 2024 in August 2021. Williams said the automaker is still working to complete the expansion of the facility to accommodate the company’s EV plans.įord has increased its forecast for F-150 Lightning production previously. Ford did not immediately respond to Teslarati’s request to confirm the report.įord will run three rotating crews of production associates on 10-hour shifts during the week. ![]()
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