Ford has announced the setting up of its second plant with an investment of Rs. 4,000 crore in the state of Gujarat. The integrated car manufacturing facility will also include an engine plant at Sanand. Located in the same region as the Tata Nano plant, the facility will have a capacity of manufacturing 2,40,000 cars and 2,70,000 engines. Ford is the fourth auto manufacturer to establish a production unit in Gujarat. The first one was General Motors which set up a plant at Halol, followed by Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki.
According to Mr. Michael Bonaham, President and Managing Director, Ford India, the company has selected Gujarat over other states owing to its proximity to North India which is the biggest car market, thus, bringing down logistics cost. Moreover, the state also offers a large seaport and infrastructure that are helpful for the company’s export strategy. The area where Ford’s factory will be set up has a strong component supplier base which also caters to Tata Nano and Maruti Suzuki. This will give Ford access to an established supplier network.
The additional capacity will help the company implement its growth strategy in India. It plans to launch 8 new models in India and expects to increase its worldwide sales by 50% by the year 2015.
