BENGALURU (Reuters) – Ford Motor plans to restart an export manufacturing facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the company said on Friday, potentially re-entering a market it withdrew from three years ago.
Ford said it has submitted a letter of intent to the state government, two days after Tamil Nadu’s chief minister said the two were in talks to resume production in the state for export.
Ford stopped producing cars in India for domestic sale in 2021 after struggling to ramp up volumes. It ended exports in 2022, effectively withdrawing from the world’s third-largest car market, which is dominated by Asian rivals.
“The move will transform the facility to focus on production for export to global markets,” Ford said in a statement.
The cars Ford plans to produce at the plant and other details will be announced later, the company said.
Before its closure, the company built cars and motorcycles at its plant in the Tamil Nadu city of Chennai.
(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
