[andafunda]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Theoretically and just theoretically speaking, it might make sense for Ford and Honda to look for a JV in India.

This may be logical but extremely unlikely. Old school industrial Japanese and American corporate cultures are so diverse that executing a JV in a tough and complex remote market (in which both companies are becoming increasingly irrelevant) will be next to impossible.

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Ford India can get back in the game if they update their line up. They have the New Puma, Focus hatch/Focus Active and Escape. All very good cars and loaded to the brim with gizmos, which is what the market wants these days. The Focus is a sharp looking car too. They should atleast put these cars in the showrooms and assess their interest. This is what Daewoo did back in the 90's and it worked well for them.

So may be that's what is happening with the Raptor and Focus coming as CBU. May be this merger getting broken is a good thing for Ford India.

[suvrog]

As far as I have read from the articles available on the internet, the new products which were already under development under the JV are still on. Since a lot of money had already been invested, Mahindra would do a contract manufacturing of the Ford badged XUV500s. This would fill in the gap between Ecosport and Endeavour. Ford would also be sourcing the TGDI mStallion petrol engines from Mahindra, and would find its way to the next-gen Ecosport.

This year would be make or break for Ford. They have already reshuffled the Ecosport Variants lineup and decreased the costs by upto Rs.35k (Ford is also known for their notorious feature deletions). Maybe, the next-gen Ecosport is just up their sleeves, and its launch would definitely increase the prices.

Time will tell. If they fail to provide or up their sales, in the next couple of years, we would definitely see a pack up show.

[srishiva]

When the XUV based Ford SUV comes, not sure how receptive people will be. Given that only panels and suspension will change, can people still buy it even if Ford exits India ?

Also, Ford needs to come out with its own cars to restore confidence in the brand. As Kwid and now Magnite showed, its the car that ultimately matters. At right value of course. All other things like marketing etc are secondary.

[MaserQ]

Good God, what does M&M have to do to make one, just one of their marriages work? Aside from the bulging wallets of their (divorce) lawyers and leaking money by way of an ever-growing array of alimony, they have precious little to show for all that time and trouble.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Well this is not good news at all. ..

Judging purely by the tone of the Ford statement, I would hazard a guess that Ford might be pursuing an exit from retail sales in India in the future, as part of their GM-inspired focus on profitability.

Even here, Ford is reinventing itself as a nexgen UV maker, focusing on the profitability of its truck lineup.

[UP!!!!]

I own a Ford Ecosport 2016 model and planning to keep it for next few years.
Honestly, I'm not sure about the future of Ford in India and somewhere deep down in the heart, I worry that they also might exit from India like GM.
While I do not worry about the spare parts for my Ecosport since it is a popular model but resale value will surely take a hit.

Next 2-3 year are going to be crucial for Ford.

[ruzbehxyz]

M&M to use part of funds kept for shelved Ford JV to develop new EV platform.

Mahindra & Mahindra is looking to develop a new EV platform. Some of the investment for this may come from the fund put aside for the company’s joint venture with Ford Motor, which was shelved earlier. M&M had outlined an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore including direct equity and debt.

As per M&M management, the company's EV program has three stages. For Phase-1, which consists of last-mile mobility in the form of three-wheelers and LCVs has already seen investment. Phase-2 consists of electrification of its existing products while in Phase 3, M&M will build a new EV platform, which will require further investment.

Just to remind our readers, Mahindra Electric has already launched the MESMA (Mahindra Electric Scalable Modular Architecture) platform in 2018. Mahindra Electric, which announced the global launch of the MESMA platform in September 2020, said its robust MESMA 48 platform offers globally competitive quality and is cost-effective. It is one of the company’s most utilised EV technology solution architecture. According to the company, the platform is highly scalable and has till date powered over 11,000 EVs on Indian roads. It can electrify a range of vehicles including three-wheelers, quadricycles, and even compact cars.

Source: https://www.autocarpro.in/news-natio...platform-78135

[aKrain]

Ford drops the bomb in Brazil. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in India now.

In an announcement that took the local press by surprise, Ford Motor Company has said it will cease manufacturing operations in Brazil with production at its Camaçari and Taubaté plants set to stop immediately. Only parts production will continue for a few months to support inventories for aftermarket sales while the Troller plant in Horizonte, will continue to operate until the fourth quarter of 2021. The plan is part of Ford’s global restructuring efforts that also saw it call off its JV with Mahindra in India.

Source: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...-brazil-419637

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by aKrain

Ford drops the bomb in Brazil. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in India now.



Source: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...-brazil-419637

Hey, quote the possible positive portion of the news also (for Indian future)

Sales will continue in Brazil; Indian operations could bag Brazil’s export business.

It may come as a blessing for Ford India as Ford may consider India for manufacturing since Ford plans to continue sales in Brazil but shutdown manufacturing

Thanks.

[aKrain]

Originally Posted by NaXal

Hey, quote the possible positive portion of the news also (for Indian future)



It may come as a blessing for Ford India as Ford may consider India for manufacturing since Ford plans to continue sales in Brazil but shutdown manufacturing

Thanks.

Actually, skipped that on purpose because that is just pure speculation. According to the same article:

The Ecosport and the Ka could have carried on with Ford Brazil importing these cars from India for example, but the high import taxes there makes this move unviable.
...
The decision to use India for these export markets though will also be weighed up against other plants in Thailand, Russia and Romania that also make the Ecosport.

So, all in all we don't really know about how things will move.

[volkman10]

Ford puts projects with Mahindra on hold as it reassesses India strategy:

It will come down to a cost versus profit analysis.

- Ford Motor has frozen all projects it was working on with Mahindra & Mahindra while it finalises a new India strategy.

-The options could include working out a new relationship with Mahindra or ending the relationship and related vehicles completely

- Ford to make a decision in about a month on whether to proceed with Mahindra in a different form or not

- Ford is weighing all programmes it had planned for the joint venture with Mahindra and will review which ones it plans to keep from a profit standpoint


- Ford is also negotiating new terms, including costs, for an engine Mahindra was to supply for its EcoSport SUV later this year

- For two other SUVs that Ford is building for launch in 2023 and 2024, the plan had been to use Mahindra engines. If it walks away from that deal, Ford will need to find another supplier or invest in upgrading its own engines,


-If Ford decides to invest more in India it needs to know by when it can recover that investment


Link

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Ford puts projects with Mahindra on hold as it reassesses India strategy:

- Ford Motor has frozen all projects it was working on with Mahindra & Mahindra while it finalises a new India strategy.

- Ford is also negotiating new terms, including costs, for an engine Mahindra was to supply for its EcoSport SUV later this year

- For two other SUVs that Ford is building for launch in 2023 and 2024, the plan had been to use Mahindra engines. If it walks away from that deal, Ford will need to find another supplier or invest in upgrading its own engines.

So this definitely proves that the EcoSports recently doing rounds on the internet spied on the highway with temp number plates were not Mahindra’s 1.2L turbo. I will be surprised if we even see a new gen EcoSport in the next 2 years!

[spr1ngleo]

Ford has a plethora of engine options they sell globally, complying to euro 6 emission standards. Must not be hard for them to make one for emerging markets, I guess. Why rely on mahindra?

[da_lowrider]

Originally Posted by volkman10

-If Ford decides to invest more in India it needs to know by when it can recover that investment


Link

For me this is the crux. More and more this seems like groundwork to either exit or severely trim operations to CBU / CKD.