風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
Ford will stop making cars in India after losing $2 billion there over 10 years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/business/ford-india.html
American automakers have long struggled to gain a foothold in India, where people tend to buy smaller vehicles.
A Ford showroom near Mumbai. People in India tend to buy smaller, more affordable cars than in the United States and EuropeCredit...Divyakant Solanki/EPA, via Shutterstock
By Neal E. Boudette;
The company said on Thursday that it will stop production at a plant in Sanand, in western India, this month, and will stop making vehicles and engines in the southern city of Chennai next year.
Ford has lost more than $2 billion in the past 10 years in India, the company’s chief executive Jim Farley, said in a statement. “We are taking difficult but necessary actions to deliver a sustainably profitable business longer-term and allocate our capital to grow and create value in the right areas.”
Other major automakers have also struggled to gain a foothold in India, where people tend to buy smaller, more affordable cars than in the United States and Europe. General Motors stopped selling cars in the country in 2017. Roughly half of all new cars sold in India are made by Maruti Suzuki, in which Suzuki of Japan owns a majority stake.
The withdrawal from India is the latest move by Ford to pare its losses from its international operations. In January, the company said it would close its three plants in Brazil Before that, it closed several plants and eliminated several thousand jobs in Europe.
Separately, Ford said Thursday that it will idle a truck plant near Kansas City, Mo., next week because of a global shortage of computer chips. The plant makes the F-150 pickup truck and the Transit van and is scheduled to resume production on Sept. 20. And G.M. said that several of its North American plants that had been idled will resume production next week, including factories in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Silao, Mexico.
Neal E. Boudette is based in Michigan and has been covering the auto industry for two decades. He joined The New York Times in 2016 after more than 15 years at The Wall Street Journal. @nealboudette
Ford is latest firm to stop making cars in India
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58497640?
US car giant Ford is to stop making cars in India and shut down both of its plants in the country, according to a company statement.
Ford said it would close the plants in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu states by the second quarter of 2022 but it would continue to make car engines for export.
The firm is the latest big car firm to leave India in recent years.
In 2017, General Motors (GM) stopped making cars for the Indian market.
And last year, Harley-Davidson stopping manufacturing and massively scaled back its sales operations in what is the world's biggest motorcycle market.
These exits have been a blow to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to lure or retain foreign manufacturers.
Ford had run up operating losses of more than $2bn (£1.5bn) over the past decade in India and demand for new vehicles had weakened, the firm said.
The car maker, which manufactured five models for the local market, said it would continue to provide maintenance services, parts and warranty support to existing customers.
Ford would also "shift to iconic global vehicles and electrified SUVs in the future", the statement said, although it was not clear whether they would be made in India.
Ford has been manufacturing cars in India for 25 years, but it has struggled to compete.
According to reports, it has a share of less than 2% of the passenger vehicles market and the firm is ranked ninth on the list of the country's biggest car makers.
