Ford Arm To Set Up Two Plants

Ford Auto Components and Electrical Group, a division of Ford Motor Co, is setting up two component plants in the country, a senior official of Mahindra Ford India Ltd said on Friday.

Mahindra Ford is a joint venture between Mahindra and Mahindra and Ford to manufacture 25,000 Ford Escorts and 60,000 Ford Fiestas annually.

Its plant is located on the outskirts of Madras. The company sold its first locally manufactured car in October 1996.

"The two component plants will be adjacent to our facilities in Madras, and will be heavily export oriented," Jim Johnston, vice-president sales and marketing at Mahindra Ford, told a news conference. He did not give any investment figures but said the component plants will supply several car manufacturers in the country and overseas. Johnston said Korea's Hyundai Motor Co had an agreement with Ford for components worldwide, and that it would supply Hyundai in India. Hyundai's plant is also located on the outskirts of Madras.

 

On what components would be manufactured in India, Johnston said that wire harnesses, dashboards and other plastic and glass parts would constitute some of the production.

The components manufactured in the country will help Mahindra Ford achieve its target of 50 per cent local content in its Indian cars.

"We are currently at 35 per cent local content in our Escorts. Our endeavour is to increase this to 50 per cent by the end of this financial year," he said, referring to the 1997/98 year ending next March 31.

Cheaper petrol version of Escort

Press Trust of India NEW DELHI

Mahindra Ford India Ltd (MFIL) is planning to give a thrust to the sale of its petrol cars by launching a cheaper version of its 'Escort' model in a limited number, company vice-president Jim Johnston said here yesterday.

The new model 'Escort freedom', which is cheaper by nearly Rs 40,000 of the existing 1,300 cc Escort (petrol), will be launched by the weekend in connection with the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence.

"We intend to give a fillip to our sales here by creating a new demand with the 'freedom' car,'' Johnston told reporters.

He said MFIL does not rule out the possibility of introducing a 1600 cc petrol car to compete with the more powerful cars - 'Cielo' of Daewoo motors and Opel Astra of the General Motors.

At present the Escort petrol has a huge inventory pile-up of about six months due to poor demand while the popular Escort 1800 cc diesel car has a waiting list of over 5,000.

Johnston said Ford has no plans to introduce an entry-point small car but will introduce 'Fiesta' by 1999, the same year MFIL hopes to complete its factory near Chennai.

"The Madras factory, on which the work is going on and the phase-I of the project is almost over, will manufacture the Fiesta cars by 1999, while the Escort cars will continue to be produced at Nasik," he said.

In the financial year 1996-97 MFIL sold around 3,600 cars, raising the total Ford cars on Indian roads to about 5,000.

"In the current fiscal (1997-98) we intend to reach a total sales figure of 10,000," Johnston said.