Ford may return to Indian market with classy SUVs: report

New Delhi: American automaker Ford Motors has decided to retain its Chennai manufacturing plant, signaling at re-entering Indian market two years after leaving the country, Forbes India reported.

The company had a plan to sell the plant, located in Maraimalai Nagar with a capacity to make 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines a year.

Ford may well bring to India its SUVs in order tap into the current trend in the country for similar cars, according to the report.

Vinay Piparsania, a former director at Ford India, reportedly said that ‘Globally, under its current CEO, Jim Farley, Ford is focused on the electrification and digital transformation of core segments in which it is a leader, namely trucks, SUVs, commercial vehicles, and performance cars.’

Manufacturing its Endeavour in India can help Ford take on Toyota's Fortuner.

The new Endeavour, built on the Ranger pickup's platform, has the boxy design compared to its predecessor, according to a report in NDTV.

However, regaining trust and confidence in the market will be quite a task, industry analysts believe.

Puneet Gupta, director for automotive forecasting at market research firm S&P Global Mobility, said despite making frugal and competitive cars, the company left the country overnight.

‘Ford had made India as a base to build frugal and competitive cars in the country and also export cars from India, but it was unfortunate to see them leaving overnight. Regaining confidence and trust among consumers, suppliers and dealers is going to be a tedious task for sure,’ Puneet Gupta was quoted as saying.

The speculation regarding the company’s re-entry came after India-born Kumar Galhotra became Ford's chief operating officer (COO).