[BlackGTP]

Ford Reconsiders an Important Strategic Decision (msn.com)
TheStreet Staff
February 15, 2022

It's a spectacular twist -- but hardly surprising in today's hypercompetitive automotive world: Ford Motor is expected to return to India less than six months after saying it would stop producing cars in the country.

The Indian government has just approved the Dearborn, Mich., company's request for its proposal under the production-linked incentive scheme for the automobile sector.

The PLI offers considerable advantages of various kinds, including tax rebates, to companies investing in advanced technologies in the auto sector.

In addition to Ford, nearly 20 other companies have had their applications approved.

Following this green light, Ford immediately let it be known that it intended to produce electric vehicles in India, but for export. In particular, it plans to sell these electric vehicles in the U.S., its first market. But the group does not rule out selling these same cars in India.

"As Ford leads customers through the global electric-vehicle revolution, we're exploring the possibility of using a plant in India as an export base for EV manufacturing," said Kapil Sharma, a spokesperson, in an emailed statement.

"The project is in the exploration stage and with discussions ongoing, we don't have anything additional to share at this time."

Continues at link

 

[BlackGTP]

Most of us dislike the idea of Chinese made vehicles, how do we feel about India?

I'm not excited, but prefer India way over China. I'd rather see this production going to Mexico or Canada if production has to be in a foreign county, preferably Mexico if it has to be low cost. Must be some huge incentives to get Ford to produce in India for export to the USA.

 

[richmond2000]

Most of us dislike the idea of Chinese made vehicles, how do we feel about India?

I'm not excited, but prefer India way over China. I'd rather see this production going to Mexico or Canada if production has to be in a foreign county, preferably Mexico if it has to be low cost. Must be some huge incentives to get Ford to produce in India for export to the USA.

what happens when one country PAYS for production and other countries "let the free market do it" China AND India see a chance to greatly improve there economy and there citizens in this NEW electric transformation
I would expect we will hear MORE and MORE countries getting on this bandwagon as the years pass EX with all the economic / social "unrest" over the last few years
and BIG job announcements IS ALWAYS good news to deliver

 

[BlackGTP]

what happens when one country PAYS for production and other countries "let the free market do it" China AND India see a chance to greatly improve there economy and there citizens in this NEW electric transformation
I would expect we will hear MORE and MORE countries getting on this bandwagon as the years pass EX with all the economic / social "unrest" over the last few years
and BIG job announcements IS ALWAYS good news to deliver

I think most countries already provide incentives, either the incentive of a massively growing market (China) or direct subsidies. India seems to have a lot of infrastructure downsides (unreliable electric grid, roads and government obstacles) - must be a lot of money to make it worth putting up with that and shipping to the other side of the planet.

 

[gm4life08]

Most of us dislike the idea of Chinese made vehicles, how do we feel about India?

I'm not excited, but prefer India way over China. I'd rather see this production going to Mexico or Canada if production has to be in a foreign county, preferably Mexico if it has to be low cost. Must be some huge incentives to get Ford to produce in India for export to the USA.

I would agree, that India is better than China. I would rather see them made in North America actually even in Mexico over some places that far away.

 

[gkr778]

Ford Reconsiders an Important Strategic Decision (msn.com)

Nice find, BlackGTP! Ford's decision involving vehicle production in India does represent a rather abrupt manuever. 😃

Interesting fact: Even after Ford ceased manufacturing vehicles for the India domestic market back in September 2021, India still has the second largest salaried workforce in the world for Ford Motor Company, after the U.S. This is due to the significant number of engineering, business solutions, information and communications technology, and customer support employees working for Ford in India.

 

[BlackGTP]

Nice find, BlackGTP! Ford's decision involving vehicle production in India does represent a rather abrupt manuever. 😃

Interesting fact: Even after Ford ceased manufacturing vehicles for the India domestic market back in September 2021, India still has the second largest salaried workforce in the world for Ford Motor Company, after the U.S. This is due to the significant number of engineering, business solutions, information and communications technology, and customer support employees working for Ford in India.

India is such an enigma to me, seems like a lot of negatives, yet a lot of companies have operations. Definitely captures my attention whenever there is a story related to India - it is almost always interesting. I had no idea about Ford's large presence in India.

 

[BlackGTP]

I would agree, that India is better than China. I would rather see them made in North America actually even in Mexico over some places that far away.

I'd like Mexico simply to build the economy, I equate a stronger Mexican economy with reduced immigration.

 

[CaptainDan]

And with our clogged ports jamming up the supply chain, buying local (Mexico and Canada) just makes more sense.

Buying from within the US, even more so!

 

[gkr778]

India is such an enigma to me, seems like a lot of negatives, yet a lot of companies have operations.

India is an enigma even to citizens of India!

Where else can you find a sub 250cc motorcycle used like a Ford Transit van? 🤣

 

[BlackGTP]

India is an enigma even to citizens of India!

Where else can you find a sub 250cc motorcycle used like a Ford Transit van? 🤣

Haahahhaa! talk about going out with the family for a Sunday morning drive! The dog really cracks me up!

 

[mbukukanyau]

Most of us dislike the idea of Chinese made vehicles, how do we feel about India?

I'm not excited, but prefer India way over China. I'd rather see this production going to Mexico or Canada if production has to be in a foreign county, preferably Mexico if it has to be low cost. Must be some huge incentives to get Ford to produce in India for export to the USA.

India is a democracy built upon the English system. China is a Han supremacy oppressive Marxist state

 

[BlackGTP]

India is a democracy built upon the English system. China is a Han supremacy oppressive Marxist state

True, I was thinking in terms of off-shoring jobs with very little benefit to the USA other than cheaper product whereas at least production in Mexico has more benefits to the USA. Granted, I do believe that corporations are not charities to improve the economy at their expense, but at the same time, how much money are they really saving?

 

[mbukukanyau]

True, I was thinking in terms of off-shoring jobs with very little benefit to the USA other than cheaper product whereas at least production in Mexico has more benefits to the USA. Granted, I do believe that corporations are not charities to improve the economy at their expense, but at the same time, how much money are they really saving?

Best case scenario would be for UAW to work with Ford to keep yobs here

 

[gkr778]

Granted, I do believe that corporations are not charities to improve the economy at their expense, but at the same time, how much money are they really saving?

One of Ford's biggest constraints to future growth is production capacity. As such, the company's plans to establish an export hub by reopening plants in India (don't know if it's Chennai, Sanand, or both) aren't about saving money, but about making capital investments that produce future cash flow by better meeting demand for Ford products globally.

In Asia, Ford's plants in Taiwan and Thailand, and its JV/partner plants with JMC and Chang'an in mainland China, are pretty much dedicated to serving those local markets plus Australia and New Zealand, without much remaining capacity for exports to other regions. The re-opened India plant(s) should ameliorate this situation.

 

[mgescuro]

Most of us dislike the idea of Chinese made vehicles, how do we feel about India?

I'm not excited, but prefer India way over China. I'd rather see this production going to Mexico or Canada if production has to be in a foreign county, preferably Mexico if it has to be low cost. Must be some huge incentives to get Ford to produce in India for export to the USA.

No issues with India.
It's a low cost manufacturing region and can be an important catalyst in shifting global manufacturing away from China. It too is a fast growing economy.

The real issues with India are the lack of mature infrastructure in parts of the country.
But they have a fast growing, highly educated portion of the population. They'll be a significant power in about a decade's time.

 

[1958carnut]

This is sort of good news. If at some point they start shipping them to the west, I'd rather see things coming out of India than China.

 

[1958carnut]

India is an enigma even to citizens of India!

Where else can you find a sub 250cc motorcycle used like a Ford Transit van? 🤣

Notice how happy and smiley they all are too, lol.

 

[gkr778]

The real issues with India are the lack of mature infrastructure in parts of the country.
But they have a fast growing, highly educated portion of the population.

The part of India where Ford's former Sanand plant is located - Ahmedabad district in Gujarat - has above average literacy levels and above average infrastructure quality for India. Tata Motors, Hitachi, Maxxis, GE, and Nivea have facilities there.

 

[tgagneguam]

No issues with India.
It's a low cost manufacturing region and can be an important catalyst in shifting global manufacturing away from China. It too is a fast growing economy.

The real issues with India are the lack of mature infrastructure in parts of the country.
But they have a fast growing, highly educated portion of the population. They'll be a significant power in about a decade's time.

Indeed.

One of the interesting aspects of this growth to me is that based on GDP measured in PPP, India likely will come close to equaling China in a few decades. And its population, again based on projections, contrasted with China's [state-controlled] demographics, clearly is set to eclipse China's.

So, the reality is two populous economic superpowers will emerge along a shared border, over which they have disputed from time to time, and more recently in 2018 and 2020.

And to make matters more complicated, China is India's largest trading partner, with the imbalance heavily favoring China at this point.

Makes you wonder, there's an accelerating shift in geopolitics to Asia away from North America and Europe. It'll be interesting to see how the US negotiates this shift. And to me it speaks to the importance and potential of solid, mutually respectful global alliances (e.g., The Quad).