[volkman10]

Ford gives up on India, decides to let Mahindra drive its struggling business

The venture, to be announced as soon as next week, doesn’t include Ford’s global business services division or an export-focused engine plant in Sanand

Mahindra will own 51% of new joint venture. It will help Ford stay in heavily populated market while letting it share financial burden with Mahindra

Ford Motor Co. is set to transfer most of its assets in India to a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. after failing to make meaningful inroads for more than two decades in the world’s fourth-largest automobile market.

Ford will get equal voting rights and board representation.

LINK

[NaXal]

Old news in new bottle.

This is only a mere confirmation of a rumour which all knew is going to come true in near future.

More & more intimate details of this JV will continue to surface as the official announcement date is nearing.

Stance stays same as the original story. Ford is opening up their option for soft exit unless Market changes drastically for them.

Unfortunately future looks bad & dark. Consolidation is the only way forward for all manufacturers.

[DCEite]

I had bought a gearless scooter a decade ago from the an unknown Korean company collaboration with Kinetic - the "Kinetic SYM Flyte".

Later on the SYM was sold to Mahindra, and the two wheeler became Mahindra SYM Flyte.

Now there is no Flyte and no SYM.

I hope Ford doesn't meet the same fate.

[marutifan]

Damn! I was really keen on the EcoSport and had even convinced my wife. Our preferred choice is a compact SUV with a decent NA petrol engine. That meant the EcoSport 1.5 or waiting for the petrol Brezza. Just yesterday we agreed on the EcoSport and now it's back to square one.

[itwasntme]

Everything said and done, Ford & M&M will ensure service and spares for the foreseeable future. The real killer is resale value at the end of say 5 to 8 years from now.

The Indian second hand car market (like our stock markets) are notoriously perception & emotion-driven. Both dealers and buyers tend to either low-ball, or avoid buying models which they deem unworthy of their real value! I faced this with my Chevy Cruze.

Add the hullabaloo over diesels, and I would be hard-pressed to recommend a brand new Ford diesel to anyone.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

The real killer is resale value at the end of say 5 to 8 years from now.. Both dealers and buyers tend to either low-ball, or avoid buying models which they deem unworthy of their real value!
Add the hullabaloo over diesels, and I would be hard-pressed to recommend a brand new Ford diesel to anyone.

Very well articulated!! I faced the exact same situation when I was trying to sell my 2 year old ~50,000kms driven and immaculately maintained Ford Figo Titanium Diesel a few months ago. Thinking back, it was a good decision to let go at the time i did for a little lesser than the price i was expecting.

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by marutifan

Damn! I was really keen on the EcoSport and had even convinced my wife. Our preferred choice is a compact SUV with a decent NA petrol engine. That meant the EcoSport 1.5 or waiting for the petrol Brezza. Just yesterday we agreed on the EcoSport and now it's back to square one.

Take a minute to reassess the situation again. Consider few points like,

1. Ford is certainly not exiting the market. They are going with a Joint Venture project with Mahindra.

2. This isn't a new news, just confirmation of a 3/4 months ol leaked news.

3. Ford is infact ensuring better A.S.S. reach for their owners with better network reach of Mahindra, plus sales too will see better number due to better reach of mahindra sales channel.

4. Future Ford products are said to share platform/drive-train with Mahindra thus way better options for service/spare availability.

5. Previous (that is present generation Ford owners) will also enjoy the benefit more number of after sales support point & spare availability option.

There wont be much issue in owning & maintaining this present generation EcoSports. The only let down "could" be the resell value. But then again, Ford never had good resell value in anyway.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Ford gives up on India, decides to let Mahindra drive its struggling business

Ford Mahindra JV

Not was not unexpected. Colour me pessimistic but it is the beginning of the end for brand Ford in India. And yes, Ford will divest their stake in the JV over the mid term. This is just a soft exit. And who will buy this stake? My guess is a Chinese auto maker.

PS - And coming up next: FCA

[rohitlp]

Although this news is not new, it's got me worried for sure. I currently drive a Fiat Grande Punto 2013 model and am looking buy the EcoSport S Ecoboost shortly. My monthly running is not much and I plan to keep the car for the next 10 years or so. How many problems (if any) am I likely to face over the period of ownership?

My only grouse with the Punto were the limited service network and long waiting time for even things like windscreen wipers(once I had to wait for 2 weeks to get them replaced). Is this going to repeat with Ford clearly making a soft exit from the Indian market?

[Aakarsh]

With all the news coming up regarding this Ford Mahindra JV, most confused are the consumers. My uncle has booked an ecosport last week and expecting delivery of the same within a week or so. But these news coming up landed him in dilemma once again that whether he should continue with the deal or look out for something different. I would like to hear from fellow members that what would be the consequences of this JV on someone like him? Should he go ahead with ecosport 1.5 P Trend or not?

Thanks
Aakarsh

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by R2D2

PS - And coming up next: FCA

This statement is as old as the forum. I'm not kidding, you can find threads from the founding year stating that the company is likely to exit from the Indian market. People said it again when the FIAT-TATA alliance came up, when the alliance failed, when the sales again went to nothing post independent operations, and now again once when Jeep sales have reduced.

Fact is though - FCA is very much still here in 2019. Ford may be present 10 -15 years down the line, too.

What is true is that Ford has failed to do anything after being present in the market for 25 years, whereas Mahindra learned the basics from Ford when they entered the country and now have reached the level where they can take 51% ownership in a partnership with Ford.

This could probably be a good thing to happen with Ford India - if they can properly dress up and market the products that Mahindra develop under the JV. Support from Mahindra might turn out to be better than the stepmotherly treatment received from Ford's own US headquarters over all these years!

That said - I wouldn't buy a Ford product now - unless it is the second or third car in the family and hence inconsequential in the long run. Wait and watch a bit longer till the dust settles.

[marutifan]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

That said - I wouldn't buy a Ford product now - unless it is the second or third car in the family and hence inconsequential in the long run. Wait and watch a bit longer till the dust settles.

With the immenent launch of the brezza petrol just months away, it makes sense to wait for a while. The Creta 1.6 petrol is another choice.

It still feels bad though. I really like the ecosport. If it was for me and not my wife, I'd have probably still gone ahead and bought the S diesel model.

[Johnnny]

Twitter response says it's not exiting India. Hope it is true and live up to every Ford owners expectations.

[achilles101]

All automakers are consolidating or forming alliances or forming JVs. If the report is true and mind you this is now 6 months old news, Ford continuing in the Indian market with a partnership with Mahindra is not a bad move. They will continue to have a presence, existing customers continue to get after sales support and new products specific to the Indian market are also a possibility. It is not like the GM case.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Aakarsh

...But these news coming up landed him in dilemma once again that whether he should continue with the deal or look out for something different. I would like to hear from fellow members that what would be the consequences of this JV on someone like him? Should he go ahead with ecosport 1.5 P Trend or not?...

There are 2 ways of looking at this JV - glass half full or half empty.

I honestly look at such JV's in the auto industry as the glass half full, as it allows the brand to exist and continue to bring products into the market. One thing that is clear is that the Ford brand is not going and there will continue to be vehicles launched, starting with Ford's version of the new XUV500.

Coming to your specific query on the Ecosport, I would say since you liked the car, go ahead and pick it up. It's a good proven product and you will continue to get service support (which is arguably the most affordable now). If it was the Ecoboost version, I would hold back since this engine will not be carried over to the BS6 era.

For the sake of headlines, "Ford gives up","Ford leaving India", etc.. just pack more punch which end up putting doubt in prospective customers minds.