As per a new report, Ford India is in talks with Citroen brand to partner as a contract manufacturer the latter’s vehicles at its production facilities. This news comes months after Mahindra decided to not engage in a joint-venture that was earlier announced by the two carmakers. While the said JV would have spawned out many co-developed products, including an all-new Ford SUV based on the XUV700, Mahindra’s decision to walk out of the partnership even before its commencement left Ford high and dry. It’s said Ford was even in talks with MG Motor India for providing contract manufacturing but the talks couldn’t go through.
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It now looks like Ford is planning a similar arrangement with the Stellantis’ carmaker that entered the Indian market with the C5 Aircross earlier this year. There are no concrete details of the exact proposal and the talks are currently said to be in the early stages. However, in case the two carmakers go ahead with this deal, the upcoming Citroen C3 Aircross, the locally developed Kia Sonet rival, could be manufactured by Ford, possibly on the same line as the Ford EcoSport!
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Speaking to a media outlet, Saurabh Vatsa, Citroen Brand Head India, has said, “We will bring the C3 to India next year, and that means we will stick to our plan that we announced right at the beginning of bringing in 1 car a year to the country.” The new model has the same quirky look as the C5 Aircross and will be underpinned by the carmaker’s Common Modular Platform. Engine options could include a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine with two transmission options – 5-speed manual and DCT automatic.
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Meanwhile, Ford India’s operations have been pretty dull with sales falling to all-time lows. While the Ford EcoSport and Endeavour have so far managed to enjoy steady popularity, cars like the Figo, Aspire and Freestyle have pretty much failed to make a mark on the sales charts. What this means is that much of the production capacity of carmaker’s Chennai and Sanand-based plans is being underutilized. It must be noted here that the Chennai plant has a manufacturing capacity of 2 lakh vehicles and 3.40 lakh engines, while the Sanand plant can produce 2.40 lakh vehicles and 2.70 lakh engines. With no all-new product on the horizon, it seems to be a favourable opportunity for Ford India to offer the excess production capacity on a contract manufacturing basis.
Source- Hindu BusinessLine
