Ford, on Thursday, inaugurated its second vehicle-cum-engine factory. It also launched its all-new compact sedan Figo Aspire here.
The new plant will more than double the auto maker’s production capacity. The second factory has come up on the emerging automotive manufacturing corridor at Sanand in Gujarat with an investment of about $1 billion. The plant, inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel in the presence of Ford Motor Company President and CEO Mark Fields, has been built on 460 acres, and is expected to create jobs for about 10,000 people (along with ancillaries). The first product to come out from this facility will be Figo Aspire.
The Sanand factory will have the capacity to produce 2.40 lakh cars and 2.70 lakh engines a year. Its Chennai plant can produce two lakh cars and 3.40 lakh engines annually.
ADVERTISEMENT
The plant is commissioned at a time the company is struggling to increase its sales in the domestic market, which is yet to see a stable demand. It sold 77,140 units in 2014 against 80,431 units in 2013, while its exports almost doubled to 76,981 units.
Also, Ford has planned to make India a manufacturing-cum-export hub for compact vehicles. Its Chennai plant already exports to about 40 countries.
“With the Sanand facility, we expect to triple our exports in the next five years,” said Mr. Fields adding that “Ford will launch three new products in India in the next 12-18 months.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, Ford is gearing up to launch its new compact sedan Figo Aspire with petrol and diesel variants later this year. This will be the third product out of the eight new products that the company has planned to roll out. It seeks to focus strongly on the compact segment that made up 45 per cent of the total volumes in 2014. The auto major expects volumes in this segment to grow to 1.6 million units by 2018 from 1.1 million units in 2014.
(This correspondent was in Sanand at the invitation of the company)