Ford to start building engines in India for global products

Ford is planning to start building two families of engines, codenamed Panther and Dragon, in India. These engines will be used to power the company's products in global markets.

Panther - This is a 2.2-litre diesel engine, which will be used to power SUVs and MUVs. The next-generation Endeavour will use this engine from 2017. The Panther engine will also power a new MUV that Ford is developing. This vehicle is expected to be a rival for the Toyota Innova.

Dragon - This is a 1.2-litre petrol engine, which will be used to power hatchbacks and compact sedans from 2017. It is expected to be more fuel-efficient than the current 1.2-litre unit that powers the Aspire and Figo.

Every year, the made in India Panther and Dragon engines are expected to be used in 2,70,000 vehicles globally.

Ford controls a small share of the automobile market in India. However, when it comes to exports, it is ranked in fourth place, behind Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki and Nissan. The company has invested heavily in India and exports are likely to play a big role in recovering this investment.

At present Ford operates under two entities in India - Ford India Pvt. Ltd., which sells products in India and Ford Motor Pvt. Ltd., the company's global business services unit, which employs 6,500 people. Together, the two entities employ 14,000 people. The company has plans to integrate these two entities, for which it could invest $800 million in the country.

The investment will also be used to expand the Chennai manufacturing facility and set up a new engineering centre. For this, Ford plans to acquire a plot of land in Chennai measuring 28 acres.

Ford is likely to make an announcement of the new investments in the next six months.

Source: Live Mint