Ford Motor Company ne finally India ke liye apne new business plans reveal kar diye hai. apni second innings mein, company 2029 se Chennai ke paas Maraimalai nagar plant mein engines manufactured karna start karegi.
Abhi tak clear nahi hai ki Donald Trump Ford ke India mein operations dobara shuru karne ke decision ke baare mein kya kehne wale hain. Lekin is baar Ford wapas aisi fancy gaadiyon ke saath nahi aa rahi — balki thoda simple scene hoga, jahan nayi generation ke engines Chennai se duniya ke alag-alag parts mein export kiye jayenge.
American President ne kaafi openly bola hai ki unka India ke saath relationship thoda mushkil raha hai — aur isi wajah se unhone India se import hone waale goods par 50% ka bada tariff laga diya hai.
Still, Trump ka India ke saath attitude somehow unpredictable hi raha hai — kabhi taareef pe taareef karte hai, aur kabhi bilkul irritate ho jaata hai. Itne mood swings ke baad bhi yeh interesting hai ki unhone ab tak Ford ke India ko engine manufacturing hub banane wale decision par koi reaction nahi diya.
Do American brands — General Motors aur Harley-Davidson — already apni manufacturing yahan band kar chuke hain. Ford ne bhi lagbhag paanch saal pehle yahi kiya tha — unhone apna Gujarat plant Tata Motors ko bech diya, aur Chennai ke paas wala plant bhi transfer hone wala tha. Industry ke log keh rahe the ki JSW group uske liye contender tha.
Victory of sorts
Ford ne suddenly apna decision change kar diya aur bola ki woh plant sale out kar se instead wapas operation start karege. Ye kaam Tamil Nadu government ke liye ek badi jeet jaisi thi — unhone literally impossible kaam kar dikhaya, ek top multinational company ko, jo India se jaane wali thi, mana liya ki yahan hi ruk jao aur continue karo.
Jab yeh sab ho raha tha, tab Trump apna second term start kar chuke the as US President, aur world ke har country par naye-naye tariff announce kar raha the. Unka main MAGA (Make America Great Again) message simple tha — zyada investments America mein aayein, na ki bahar chale jaayein.
Industry lobby mein discussion start ho gaya hai ki Ford aapne engine ka kya karega-Chennai plant mein approx. 2.35 lakh engine manufacture karne ki capacity hai, jisme company ne 3,000 crore se zyada ka investment kiya hai. At present Ford main market is the US, then Europe, but latin america and china mein kuch khaas performance nahi hai. Africa or ASEAN mein toh presence almost negligible hai. Then ab yeh dekhna interesting hoga ki yeh saare engines jayenge kahan.
Some industry expert believe that Europe will become the most preferred destination. Because, "India mein labour cost kaafi kam hai, or Europe mein engines import karne par duty bhi itni zyada nahi lagti," sources say.
According to top officials, inn engines ko US ship karna zyada sensible option nahi hai because distance is too long or freight or logistics ka expense bhi kaafi increase ho jayega.
The roadmap ahead
According to Ford excutive "Ford ka plan hai wo Asia-pacific region mein apni presence ko strong karein, or phir India ko ek strategic hub banaye engines ke liye. because yahaan ke suppliers top-class hai or cost mein kaafi competitive hai. last mein, India se ASEAN or Europe both markets mein service karna possible ho jayega iss decade ke end tak,"
American car company ka India mein journey ek rollercoaster ride jaisi rahi hai. Kabhi up, Kabhi down. approx. 25 years phele jab Ford ne Chennai mein apna new plant operation start kiye, tab se hi unki journey full ups and down rahi hai.
Before this, Ford ne aapni Escort model ko limited numbers mein sell kiya tha, Wo bhi Mahindra & Mahindra ke Nashik plant ke through. Uske baad Ford ne Chennai se apni Ikon launch ki thi or starting mein kaafi successful bhi rahi thi. But uske baad wo momentum nahi kar paaye, because Maruti or Hyundai ne market kaafi fast peace mein progress kari.
Ford ke pass Endeavour or Ecosport jaise models the inn models ne market mein dhamaal machaya tha, buyers ko kaafi passand aaye. par production ke according Ford inn cars ke liye Chennai plant ka benefit nahi le saki, means large-scale manufacturing jiss purpose se Ford ne iss plant ko develop kiya wo nahi ho saka.
Company ne Figo ke throughsmall-car market mein entry lene ki koshish ki zaroor thi, but wo big impact kabhi nahi aaya. Maybe problems retail side par thi, ya phir Maruti or korean jaise brands ki crazy aggressive strategy se compete karna ford ke liye tough ho gaya. 3
Yet Ford had not give up, wo last tak fight karte rahe, even jab yeh clearly dikh raha tha ki Gujrat mein ek extra plant ke saath operations run karna or tough hota ja raha tha. Company desperate thi ki India uske "One Ford" plan ka part bane. Yeh plane Ford ke Ex-president & CEO Alan Mulally ne banaya tha (2006-2014 ke beech). iska main idea tha ki gobal platform kam kiye jaayein or parts mein zyada similarity laayein, so that efficiency increase ho.
Core of the market
According to Murali Gopalan senior journalist in the world of automotive, unhone kaha ki jab unhone Alan Mulally se ek interview mein yeh bataya tha ki India Ford ke liye important market hai, Because yahan jo products manufacture hote hai. Jaise "Figo, Fiesta ya small SUVs". who actually all over world ke centre mein hai.
He further added, "hum apna investment itne focused way mein kar rahe hai so that small cars or medium size vehicles ke numbers increase ho".
According to Mulally, small cars approx. 60% tak all over world ke demand ka part hai. And Ford ke platform mein yeh vehicles bhi include ho gaye. Not just that 70% - 80% parts puri chain same rahenge.
Unhone aage bataya "Hum duniya bhar mein vehicles ek hi method se develop karenge. Jaise Chennai mein jo Fiesta manufacture hogi, woh same waisi hi hogi jaise China ya US mein banti hai. Isse humein supplier ke saath scale milta hai or hum customers ko competition se zyada affordable products de paate hai," Mulally ne interview mein kaha.
Jim Farley, jo ab Ford ke President & CEO hai, unhone bhi yehi baat Mumbai mein ek roundtable ke time kehi jab American automaker ne 2019 mein apne old partner M&M ke saath alliance announce kiya tha. Us time pe wo Ford new businesses ke president the, or unhone kaha tha, "Humne 'One Ford' se bahut kuch seekha hai.
Integration of abilities
Ford ki team ne yeh understand kar liya tha ki asli value tabhi milegi jab scale local hoga. Agar product ke features zyada “global style” mein bana diye jaayein aur local needs ko ignore kar diya jaaye, toh value create karna difficult ho jaata hai.
Farley ke according, yeh Ford ke liye ek bahut hi important lesson tha jab company apni planning kar rahi thi or business ko revive kar rahi thi.
Farley ne bataya ki "Hum ek new capability ko local level pe merge karne waale hain — aur yehi M&M ke saath hamara real opportunity hai,”
Dusri opportunity jo one Ford ka ek "acha part" thi woh yeh thi ki humne India se export karna seekha. Farley ne bataya, "Agar aap western Europe, Germany ya Chicago mein kisi se conversation karo jinke pass ecosport hai, unhe yeh car bhaut passand hai." Means, humne jo yahan India mein global level ki capability develop ki hai, usse all over the world praise kiya jata hai.
Yeh baat clearly dekhati thi ki India ka qualitylevel kitna high hai isme koi doubt nahi tha ki yeh product truly world-class tha.
“Hum admit karte hain ki One Ford se yeh ek bada positive lesson mila tha. Ab hum ise ek aise cost base ke saath kar pa rahe hain jo pehle kabhi nahi tha (M&M ke saath),” unhone add kiya.
As luck would have it, M&M saath jo alliance plan hua tha, wo kabhi start hi nahi ho paya. And the biggest reason is the 2020 covid pandemic, jab all over the world has gone into the freeze mode.
Till then, both of the partner are very positive about the future. Mumbai ke roundtable mein Farley ne bhi bataya ki Indian market ab phele se kaafi change ho gaya hai or emerging markets jaise ford ke liye ab important ho gaye hai.
Farley ne kaha ki iss bar M&M ke saath jo partnership hui hai, uska purpose thoda different hai. means ab hum new products develop karna chahte hai, M&M ke pass jo zabardast capabilities hai (jo unhone last JV ke baad build ki hai), unka full benefit lena hai chahe India mein ho ya overseas markets mein.
Exiting unviable markets
Then Finally yeh alliance cancel ho gaya jab Ford ne decide kiya ki wo India se exit kar raha hai. Phir 2021 mein unhone yeh bhi announce kar diya wo Brazil makets se bhi exit kar rahe hai. Means ab unka focus sirf US and Europe markets mein hi hone wala hai.
India wapas aana Ford ke liye kaafi interesting move hai especially because phele unka plan tha unprofitable markets se nikalne ka. Abhi bhi Ford ka backend setup Chennai mein kaafi strong hai, Ford Business Solutions ke firm name se jahan software engineering, analytics, data science jaise kaam hote hai. not just that Ford ke pass 15,000 engineers ki team bhi hai.
Ab jab engines Chennai ke pass manufacture hone wale hai, toh yeh clearly dikhata hai ki company India ke manufacturing or services dono mein apni strength ka full use karna chahti hai. Let's see yeh story future kaise unfold hogi, yeh dekhna kaafi interesting hoga.
Image Courtesy: Business Standard