Ford Cars India
The routes of Ford India can be traced way back to 1907 when it launched model “A”. The company was started in 1926 but due to some problems it was shut down in 1954.
The owners of the company did not stop trying to reopen it. It was in 1995 when the Indian government gave them approval to open Mahindra Ford India Limited.
It had the name Mahindra because there was a joint venture between Mahindra and Mahindra Limited.
In this joint venture, Ford had a small stake but that was not enough to claim ownership. In 1998, Ford got approval to raise its stakes in the joint venture to 92.18%.
This gave it the powers to change the name to today’s Ford India Limited. It has now set up a manufacturing facility in Maraimalai near Chennai, India. The first vehicle it produced was the Ford Escort which was replaced by Ford Ikon in 2001.
The Ikon has been sold to many international countries and its demand rose almost exceeding the supply. In response to this, Ford India decided to open a new Ikon manufacturing plant in 1999. This plant uses 90% of local content and began exporting its products in the year 2000.
Milestones Of Ford India
Ford India was established in 1926 by Ford Canada and around 1936 the Indian government officials asked the founder of the company, Henry Ford to build a manufacturing plant in the country.
To spearhead the idea, Mahatma Gandhi sent a symbol of India’s economic independence which was the spinning wheel to Henry Ford. Unfortunately Ford operations ceased in the year1954 but this was not the end of the company. In 1969, Ford was reborn and this time it joined forces with Escorts Ltd and produced tractors.
As the company’s finances went up, Ford purchased equity shares of 5.8% in M&M. This gesture proved its dedication and commitment to the Indian market. The company therefore applied for approval to have a joint venture with M&M so that they could manufacture and produce vehicles.
In 1995, the government granted them permission and the joint companies formed Mahindra Ford India Ltd. In 1996, a plant site for production of Fiesta vehicles was announced and manufacturing began.
This same year, the first Ford Escort manufactured in India was released to the market and it received more than 70,000 sales bookings. Of all the vehicles this automobile company India has produced, Ikon has gotten the highest sales.
|
Automobiles India 
