Ford India Stops Manufacturing : Some models in Middle East affected

Back in 2016, Ford had shut down their factories in Australia, putting an end to an iconic 90-year run in the continent. Now, Ford has announced their decision to exit one of its key market and manufacturing hubs; India. With both domestic and export production coming to a halt in India, Ford’s line-up in the Middle East will also see some aftershocks.

Though the modern Fords came to India in the mid-1990s, the presence of the brand dates way back. But despite India having a growing market in some lucrative segments, Ford had never been able to capture a fair share of the sales due to several reasons. But they did have some success, including the Ford Ikon sedan, Figo hatchback, Fiesta sedan, EcoSport crossover, and the mid-size, Fortuner-rivalling Endeavour SUV.

But none of these were able to save their brand from shutting shop. Ford has now announced that their domestic production in the country will seize immediately while the international operations will only go on for some more months. But Ford, as a car brand, will exist in India for longer but only with imported premium cars in their portfolio. These will be imported via the highly-taxed CBU(Completely Built Unit) route into the country, hence with a massive price tag. As of now, the range will only include the Mustang but later on, the Ranger Raptor and possibly the Mustang Mach-E will join in.

The waves of this sudden move will reflect in the Middle Eastern market as well. Ford India manufacturers the EcoSport crossover and the Figo hatchback that are imported onto our soil. Though Ford has decided to push on with export production for a while longer, the availability of these vehicles is uncertain. Both these Fords are not massive volume generators in our region, hence the effect will not be profound enough to see a difference on our roads. Yet, Ford India’s decision to stop manufacturing will leave some ripples in the GCC market.