Ford Could Restart Production In India... But There's A Caveat

The carmaker has been approved for the government's PLI scheme for the automotive sector

The government has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automotive sector with a budgetary outlay of Rs 25,938 crore to boost domestic manufacturing. Ford India is among the 20 names approved under the PLI category of Champion OEM Incentive and could restart local production once again.

In its official response thanking the Indian government for approving its proposal, Ford stated, "we're exploring the possibility of using a plant in India as an export base for EV manufacturing."

The American brand is already working on a global portfolio of EVs. It currently offers the Mustang Mach-e, a sporty electric SUV, and is due to start production of the F-150 Lightning, its electric pickup. Ford also makes electric versions of some of its electric vans to cater to the commercial space. There are likely to be more EVs in the works, but none of them focussed towards the Indian market, supporting its plans to use its facilities primarily for export purposes.

In September 2021, Ford announced that it would cease local production in India but continue operations for automotive tech development, service and support, and only sell imported models. The decision was arrived at after incurring extensive losses. However, getting the nod for the new government incentives for local manufacturing of advanced auto tech could see the blue oval come back to India, sure for EVs only.

Also read:Ford To Focus On Electric Vehicles And Reducing Battery Costs

The other four-wheeler passenger car OEMs approved under the same category as Ford are Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Tata, PCA (Citroen), and Maruti Suzuki.