[zeus18]

Ford will rather look at saving its face in EU and the UK and play it safe in the USA by launching more hybrids— don't forget Ford loses money on every EV it sells— until it improves its EV offerings. It would never want to re-enter Indian market and bleed again at this significant transitional phase after bleeding here from its inception until its departure in India!

[ashutoshb]

Ford Team met Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. He tweeted.

Source: Ford held talks with Indian state to restart production for exports, minister says

[sharmanova]

Source: Deccan Herald's 12th September issue.

[funnysaltbrick]

I still believe that the Maraimalai plant has more to give. It's a world class facility that has stopped because the parental entity in Ford was not taking India seriously enough. They should have looked at how hard and fast Hyundai was at Sriperumbudur and atleast made some efforts. I assume this talks gone one of two ways. One way is that they are working out a way to hand the plant into governmental hands for it to be auctioned off to auto OEM's.

Another (very hopeful) way is that this would lead to the plant getting restarted by Ford India to locally produce kits for the Ranger/Everest platform and sell a limited number in India, eventually going for full-scale localisation where they make Chennai the home for the T6 Platform and making it for the South Asian/African-Middle Eastern/South East Asian markets as an export hub. Remember, Ford has made it clear that the small capacity models are not coming anytime soon. It's a horrible idea but it is what it is.

Honestly, I want to see the Escape/Edge/Focus platforms in India. They would be the bread-butter to the croissant-caviar of the Ranger/Everest. But that's being hopeful.

[volkman10]

Ford confirms restart of vehicle production in India. To focus on exports for global markets.

This strategic move will see the facility repurposed to focus on manufacturing for export to global markets, as part of the company’s ambitious Ford+ growth plan.

Ford today announced that it has submitted a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the Government of Tamil Nadu, confirming its intention to utilize the Chennai plant for manufacturing for export. The announcement follows a meeting between Ford leadership and the Chief Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of his visit to the United States.

This strategic move will see the facility repurposed to focus on manufacturing for export to global markets, as part of the company’s ambitious Ford+ growth plan.

Further information about the type of manufacturing and other details will be disclosed in due course.

Ford currently employs 12,000 individuals in Global Business Operations in Tamil Nadu, a number expected to grow by 2,500 to 3,000 jobs within the next three years. Combined with the engine manufacturing operations in Sanand, India represents Ford’s second-largest salaried workforce worldwide

Link:

[diwakarmuthu]

Official statement from the Ford International Ops head. Only going to be used for Export. I don't think a local product launch is on the horizon.