Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Ford will triple exports from India with new $1B factory

Ford Motor Company intends to triple its exports from India with a $1 billion plant that will be one of its most heavily automated in Asia, and offset slower sales inside the country with a push to sell more local production overseas.

The factory, which opened on Thursday in India’s western state of Gujarat, will nearly double Ford's production capacity in India to 610,000 engines and 440,000 vehicles a year. It will make engines and compact cars such as the EcoSport, a small SUV, and the Figo Aspire sedan.

"India is very cost competitive, which is important particularly for small vehicles," Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields told reporters at the factory opening in Sanand, outside Gujarat's biggest city, Ahmedabad.

Smaller cars are key to Ford's efforts to compete in Asia and particularly in India, where a growing urban population means compact models account for about one in every two passenger cars and utility vehicles sold.

For more of the Reuters story: www.reuters.com