Hyderabad: Three years after exiting the Indian market, auto maker company Ford on Friday announced plans to resume operations in the country at a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Industries Minister, Dr T R B Rajaa made the announcement in a post on his official X handle.
“Ford IS BACK. A year of constant interactions and consistent pitches under the guidance of our Chief Minist er Thiru M K Stalin have today resulted in the return of Ford Motor Company to Tamil Nadu. Our CM's efforts to showcase TN's manufacturing prowess, its abundant talent pool and the efforts he has taken to reposition Brand Tamil Nadu in its rightful Numero Uno Place has yielded rich dividends,” Rajaa wrote while putting a video clip of his visit to Ford's state of the art Dearborn Manufacturing unit.
Automaker Submits Letter Of Intent To Stalin Govt
Announcing the India return plans, President, International Markets Group, Ford Motor Company, Kay Hart, in a Linkedin post wrote that the company has submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Government of Tamil Nadu in India, outlining Ford’s intention to utilize our Chennai plant for manufacturing for export.
“We appreciate their ongoing support as we have explored different options for the plant. This step underscores our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets,” she wrote adding “I know people will be curious, but we will have more to share about the type of manufacturing and which export markets we'll be focusing on, along with other details, in due course.”
Manufacturing Unit To Boost Job Creation
Ford has a global Ford Business Solutions team of more than 12,000 employees in Chennai which is expected to grow by another 2,500 to 3,000 team members in the next few years, Hart said.
CM Stalin's High Profile Meeting With Ford Leadership
The development comes two days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin met with the top leadership of Ford Motor Company in Chicago in the US during his whirlwind tour of the country to woo investors to the southern state.
“Had a very engaging discussion with the team from Ford Motors! Explored the feasibility of renewing Ford’s three decade partnership with Tamil Nadu, to again make in Tamil Nadu for the world,” Stalin wrote in a post on X.
