M&M, Ford strengthen their alliance in powertrain sharing, car solutions

The Mahindra group and Ford Motor on Wednesday strengthened their ongoing strategic alliance by signing two new agreements, under which they will jointly develop connected vehicle solutions and the domestic firm will supply powertrains to the American firm's domestic unit.

The definitive agreements on powertrain sharing and connected car solutions reinforce the progress made in the strategic alliance between the two companies, first announced in September 2017 and followed up with five agreements in March 2018.

"Under the definitive agreement on powertrain sharing, Mahindra will develop and supply a low-displacement petrol engine to Ford India for use in its present and future vehicles, starting in 2020.

"The BS-VI compliant powertrain will help Ford extend and strengthen its existing offering of petrol engines, that currently includes the all-new three-cylinder TiVCT family," Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) said in a statement Wednesday, adding the agreement on connected solutions will see them jointly develop solutions to be deployed across Mahindra and Ford products.

The companies also announced the joint development of a telematics control unit.

"Today's announcement further builds on the commitments made so far, leading to a fruition of exciting new opportunities. We are confident to meet customer expectations by working together on a number of joint development areas.

Going forward, we will continue to identify the synergies that exist between the two companies," said Pawan Goenka, managing director, M&M.

The agreements signed earlier this year include leveraging their respective strengths on product development for the domestic market and emerging markets, including co-development of compact SUVs and electric vehicles.

Jim Farley, executive vice-president and president of global markets, Ford Motor Company, said, "Today we go further in delivering even greater value. With our collaboration in powertrain and connected car solutions, we will deliver an affordable portfolio and enable our consumers here to get behind the wheel, feeling more confident and connected." Ford was among the first global automakers to enter the country in 1995. Now, one of the largest exporters of cars from the country, Ford manufactures and exports vehicles and engines from its Chennai and Sanand facilities.

India is home to the second-largest employee base for Ford globally, with over 14,000 working across the Ford India or its global business services operations in New Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore.