The factory was established in Maraimalai Nagar in the Chengalpattu district with an investment of ₹1,700 crore and was inaugurated in 1999 by the then Chief Minister Karunanidhi.
Published Sep 16, 2024 | 5:06 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 16, 2024 | 5:06 PM
Ford Chennai factory. (Creative Commons)
After the visit of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s visit to the US, Michigan headquartered automobile manufacturing company Ford announced the restart of its production from Tamil Nadu.
Currently, Ford has its global technology and business solutions centre in Chennai employing over 1,000 people.
The factory was established in Maraimalai Nagar in the Chengalpattu district with an investment of ₹1,700 crore and was inaugurated in 1999 by the then Chief Minister Karunanidhi.
Models like the Ford Icon, Ford Endeavour, Ford Fusion, and Ford Fiesta were manufactured and exported to various countries.
In 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of the then Chief Minister Karunanidhi to expand the operations of the factory with an additional investment of ₹1,500 crore and set up a new engine manufacturing plant.
This doubled the factory’s productivity and was set up on an area of 350 acres with a capacity of 2 lakh cars and 3 lakh 34 thousand engines.
Statistics say that Ford sold 8,000 cars in 2000, 93,000 cars in 2019, 66,000 cars in 2020 and 48,000 cars in 2021.
The sudden exit of the growing company from Chennai, the hub of the automotive industry in India, in 2020 caused a major shock among the industry.
While many automakers were introducing smaller cars, Ford had been focusing on its iconic model. The late launch of models including Figo, Fusion, and Aspire in India is said to be the reason for the lag behind the race.
While Indians bought cars based on mileage and price, Ford was looking after its engine power and efficiency.
Ford did not follow the path of other companies in India in providing offers. Due to such reasons, the operating loss of the company in 10 years was said to be $2 billion (approximately ₹16,600 crore).
Lack of proper understanding of the Indian market and failure to adapt to the times led to the closure of Ford’s plant.
Subsequently, an agreement was made with the JSW Group to sell the Maraimalainagar plant. However, in December last year, Ford announced that it had reversed that decision.
Leveraging the situation, Stalin, met the top officials of Ford in Chicago in the US on 10 September.
Stalin reportedly requested the company to resume production in Tamil Nadu and further expand the global competence center.
Following this, Ford announced that it had offered to restart its production in Tamil Nadu.
The Chief Minister, who arrived in Chennai after his tour, while speaking to the media, said, “The Ford Company, which has been operating in Tamil Nadu for 30 years and had stopped production due to unavoidable circumstances, has accepted our request and offered to start production again in the factory located in Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai.
“When talking to the company officials and assured them of all the facilities, they said that they would start again. On behalf of Tamil Nadu, and the people of Tamil Nadu, I welcome the decision of the institution with joy. I have directed the authorities to provide all assistance to Ford to start production,” he said.
“It is rare for a manufacturing company to resume production in the same state after ceasing production. Through this, thousands of youths have been given employment opportunities. The government of Tamil Nadu, which is the second largest economic state in India, has set a target of $1 trillion by 2030 and is taking steps to achieve it,” Stalin said.
The government is proud to reveal that Tamil Nadu is becoming the “Detroit” of Asia by restarting Ford production in Tamil Nadu, which had stopped production, he claimed.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
