Foreign carmakers have been showing keen interest in acquiring Ford Motor Co’s plant in Tamil Nadu, says the state industries minister.
In September, Ford had announced plans to cease production in India because of huge losses. The company had said manufacturing of vehicles for sale in India will stop immediately. While the Sanand vehicle assembly unit will be shut by the third quarter of the current financial year, the Chennai engine and vehicle assembly plants will stop operations by the first quarter of the next financial year, which is in 2022.
Thangam Thennarasu, the industries minister of Tamil Nadu, told Reuters that early-stage talks are going on. He did not give details about the firms involved. “It is eventually up to Ford as it will be a commercial arrangement. We are merely facilitating talks between the companies,” the minister said.
Thennarasu highlighted that the Tata Group has also shown interest in buying the Ford plant. The company’s executives have met the state’s chief minister and also visited the plant for a preliminary study. However, the state government is yet to hear from them about any deal.
N Muruganandam, principal secretary (industries), the government of Tamil Nadu, had earlier said that the state government will facilitate a smooth handover of the land if they reach a deal. Over the past year, Ford has been in talks with Ola and Mahindra and Mahindra for contract manufacturing or for the sale of both factories.
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The Chennai unit is spread across an area of 350 acres. It had an annual production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines. The plant manufactured Ford EcoSport and Ford Endeavor. It had investments of around $1 billion. The Sanand facility, spread over 460 acres, has a capacity of 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per annum.
