The Ford India plant in Sanand has been taken over by Tata Motors. Though the announcement is not official yet, but the Tata Motors has acquired Ford India’s manufacturing facility based out of Sanand in Gujarat for an undisclosed amount.
The American auto giant stopped retail and manufacturing operations in the country in September last year. It is believed that Tata would take over the Ford manufacturing facilities in India. Not just that, it is said that Tata would invest an additional Rs 2,000 crore in the newly acquired facility.
By 2026, Tata intends to manufacture 200000 electric vehicles (EVs) at the Sanand factory. There is a Ford vehicle and engine manufacturing plant in Maraimalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu.
Plant Acquisition & Sought Concessions
In the Sanand facility, no Ford employee will be laid off. Directly or indirectly there are as many as 23,000 personnel working with Ford Sanand plant.
The Ford’s Sanand plant is just opposite to the Tata Sanand plant, where it built Nano. The manufacturing of Tiago and Tigor is currently taking place in the plant.
In its existing Sanand plant (which has an overall production capacity of 1.5 lakh units per annum), Tata is already producing 10,000 EVs per year.
Tata Motors was one of the first major automakers to enter Sanand with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore to build India’s most affordable car in the form of Nano.
Seeking concessions in the land transfer, Tata Motors has proposed to pay 20% of jantri rate of the land which translates to Rs 66 crores. It has also asked for balance eligible incentives which were promised to Ford till 2030. The concessions sought by Tata Motors have received the nod from the government. Earlier this year, a consent proposal for transfer of ownership of the Ford’s manufacturing plant was submitted by Tata & Ford. The high-powered committee met recently and gave a nod to this proposal including concessions sought by Tata Motors as part of this deal. This proposed takeover is expected to become a major landmark in EV production in the country.
Tata Motors as an EV manufacturer
Currently the largest EV manufacturer in the country, Tata Motors serves two mass-market products in the form of Tigor EV and Nexon. A total of 2264 EVs were sold in the month of February, 2022. The company recently previewed an upcoming Coupe Electric SUV in the form of Curvv Concept which is expected to go on sale by 2024.