Mahindra-Ford JV will spawn as many as 3 UVs for the American brand and all of them will share platforms with Mahindra models
We all know that Mahindra and Ford has entered into a JV which will see platform and technology sharing. The new JV in which Mahindra will have 51% share will bring under its umbrella Ford India Pvt Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. This means, Ford will transfer its personnel and facilities (Chennai and Sanand units) to the JV.
Carandbike reports that the Mahindra-Ford JV will export Ford branded models to several international markets. Speaking to the publication, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto and Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, stated, “So, one part for business, which is the joint venture with Ford, you would want to export aggressively, and create products which can go under Ford badge. The other part of the business, which is brand Mahindra in the SUV segment, you want to keep it focused to markets where you already are.”
Mahindra’s role in the joint venture
Though Mahindra will be in charge of operational management of the JV, the governance will be taken care of by equal number of representatives from both Mahindra and Ford. Also, the American automaker will continue to own the rights to Ford brand in India and will continue to distribute its products through its existing dealer network.
The first project under the joint venture is the next generation Mahindra XUV500 which will share its platform with a new Ford SUV. Though these products are to be manufactured alongside, we expect them to wear completely different tophats and interiors. There will at least be two more Ford UVs coming out of this partnership with platforms and powertrains shared with their Mahindra counterparts.
The combined entity will be responsible for growing the Ford brand in the country as well as increase its export markets. As things stand now, Ford’s installed production capacity in India is not being utilized to its maximum potential. New products and an aggressive export push are expected to fix this issue.
Export push for Ford models
We expect Ford badged products to lead the export side of the operations. While Mahindra branded models will also be exported, they will only target the markets which the brand already has as decent presence such as South Africa, parts of North Africa, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and so on.
