Recent developments such as Endeavour patent and cancelling Chennai plant sale have fuelled speculations about Ford’s potential re-entry in India
As part of their global business restructuring process, Ford had announced its India exit in 2021. Although Ford cars such as EcoSport and Endeavour were popular, overall revenues were not in line with company targets.
It was felt that Ford had left India for good. But recent developments point towards a re-entry. While Ford has not revealed its plans, the company has clearly stated that it had not posted any recruitment ads.
Who posted the Ford recruitment ads?
A few weeks back, Ford’s job listings were found on multiple social media platforms. The job listings were for positions such as Senior Engineer – PD (Body Exterior), ADAS Feature Owner, AEM Author/Developer and Manufacturing Digital Transformation Integration Architect Manager. The location for these job listings was Chennai, which is where Ford has its manufacturing plant.
More recently, a job listing for Product Manager at Ford was found on LinkedIn. This job opening was for the next-gen EV platform at Ford Mobility. However, this job listing was subsequently deleted.
Even the profile of the individual who posted the job listing seems to have been deleted. It is not certain if someone was just trying to create and peddle fake news or if someone ordered them to remove the job listings and the profile.
Ford’s India plans not finalized yet?
Recent events such as Ford filing the Endeavour design patent and cancelling the Chennai plant sale deal with JSW work as strong evidence for the company’s plans to re-enter the Indian market. In an earlier response, Ford had told a customer that they cannot commit to any launch plans as of now. However, the reply also does not clearly deny Ford’s possible re-entry into India.
In the response related to the job postings also, Ford has not denied any possible plans to restart India operations. It has merely stated that the company has not directly posted any job listings. This leaves room for third-party recruiters who may have posted the job listings on behalf of Ford. Businesses usually like to keep things under wraps until the plans are finalized. This could be the case with Ford, regarding its decision to relaunch India operations.
India’s growth story could be an attraction
India’s automobile industry has been registering strong growth after the pandemic. There’s huge unlocked potential across the standard ICE segment and even more so in the fast-growing EV space. It is possible that Ford may have revisited their decision and could be sensing an opportunity in the Indian auto market. Ford already has the regulatory clearances for the Chennai plant. So, resuming manufacturing won’t be a hassle. Ford can start with the new Endeavour and later introduce its EVs as well in India.
