[NaXal]

There is no way Ford can continue as it is with their present condition.

The reason for JV was to survive in this market by keeping the brand's name active & serving the existing loyal customer base without putting them into a soup like what Chevy (GM) did.

Either Ford has to find enough funding to invest for a product onslaught or unfortunately wind up their India business like how GM did.

Ford & GM both are sitting on huge debt in their home turf (US Market). Ford isn't doing well anywhere in the world & losing money, specially with this Covid economy.

Question is how will they justify rapid investment here in India or do they even have the fund or most importantly the willingness to infuse in Indian market?

Just 3 models (Figo platform, Ecosport & high-end Endy) won't cut it. Specially with stupid decisions to keep on deleting features & variant adjustment.

Surely, Indian management did wonderful job in turning around Ford Service experience & company did reasonably well with Ecosport / Figo platforms but when competition is facelifting every 2/3 years by adding features & keeps on introducing different models in different segments, Ford's rigid attitude isn't helping at all.

Odds are stacked against us, the Ford owners. It seems Ford is taking step towards the same path as GM did.

Still fingers crossed, hopefully Ford Asia Pacific bosses will allow Indian management some freehand & some funds to get some of their global products in India.

Ford needs,

* A proper Sedan to compete with Verna / City
* Creta / Seltos Rival
* New Version of Ecosport
* Innova rival MPV but priced between Innova & Marazzo

None of these are tough for Ford. They already have multiple products in their global line up to achieve this.

But will they have that willingness to go for it or their Asia Pacific management will chicken out like GM?

Scary time for a Ford owner !!

[CEF_Beasts]

What a flying start Ford has made in 2021! 1 year and the JV has been called off? This should ring alarm bells that something is seriously wrong. Next-gen Ford EcoSport with the 1.2L turbo petrol from Mahindra is not possible now, XUV500 based Ford SUV is not possible as well. What is left CBUs? Does this mark the end of Ford in India? I remember when Ford had entered into the JV with Mahindra they had clearly stated to all dealers and vendors that they are not leaving India, with this exit from the JV what is supposed to happen?

Also Ford has left the JV and not Mahindra so this can’t be counted as Mahindra botching up another JV!

I am in splits now what to do with my EcoSport, sell it or keep it! Dealers in Mumbai have also reduced in Mumbai.

[su1978]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Ford has some good cars. I hope they continue. The Aspire/Figo and the Ecosport are good products. Maybe they suffer from poor marketing etc. I hope Ford continues in India and does not go the GM/Harley way. There is still hope for Ford and lot of potential. All they need is the will. I hope they learn from KIA/MG and re-valuate their India options. Double blow for Mahindra first the Ssangyong failure and now this.

Very truly said. I am fully in sync with this viewpoint. Their products are very good and capable ones. The marketing team is the weakest link in their entire setup. It is full of guys who are driven by laidback attitude and have no interest in anything other than the salary being credited into their account. They do not drive the dealership sales team. They do not drive the product development team. They do not push the service team. Any organization is a sales driven one and if the sales team in unable to take the lead and force the backend team to do something, nothing else can.

Mahindra is perhaps a company which only cares for brand Mahindra and will try and kill and other JV partner. The JV not going through is actually good for Ford. But now they need to go full steam by firstly, kicking out the non-performers. Shunting out useless channel sales team. Bring new global products. Improve dealer network. Extensive advertising on every media platforms. Increase product awareness. Kill the negativity around the service and ownership costs. Do whatever it takes to make this a ground breaking turnaround for ford.

[fhdowntheline]

I would'nt place too many bets on Mahindra either. Their brightest prospect in the near term is the most unlikely of the products, i.e. the Thar. I am not sure the XUV series and Scorpio carry the same brand resonance as they did about 5 years ago. The only place where they are still going good is the Bolero pickup market.

Also I believe that the segmentation between pure rural and pure urban markets for compact SUVs has blurred a bit, with a lot of semi-urban people preferring Cretas and Seltoses as comfortable, "tech laden" products . And as an indigenous manufacturer, Mahindra doesnt have the same brand image amongst urban markets as Tata has (thanks to Tiago/Tigor/Nexon/Harrier). Access to Ford was one way of getting there.

[DicKy]

Good - Ford's service centres will escape the sup-par Mahindra A.S.S.

Not good - Question mark over Ford India's future.
They really should get over the one trick pony strategy.

What about the engine/platform sharing and all the future vehicles rumoured to come?
Was really looking forward to the Ford's Creta rival and XUV500 version.

Originally Posted by bronco

I was wondering why the heck Ford would launch Ranger, Focus and Focus ST (Ford Focus, Focus ST coming to India)in India especially with JV going on! Now it makes sense.

Well. Actually it made more sense if the JV happened.
Simply from Ford's words itself. To keep the Fordness of the brand intact.
Even if the planned Mahindra collab products come, the Ranger/Focus makes sense as limited imports.
Imagine the brand image of atleast one Ranger Raptor in each major cities.

[kiku007]

This was totally unexpected.

I'm glad Ford called off their JV with Mahindra for obvious reasons BUT the timing and opaqueness of the announcement raises more questions on the future of Ford India.

Considering the current economic scenario of Ford and the world in general, there's not one bit of positivity in the following statement,

“The company is actively evaluating its businesses around the world, including in India,”

Why would you do such a thing on the first day of the new year? It's an absolute PR disaster for Ford's dealers.

Back when Ford announced their JV with Mahindra I felt it was the beginning of Ford's exit from India and this new development pretty much confirms it for me. I'll be glad to be proved wrong.

As for Mahindra, how many more times would you be snubbed by Ford? Ford didn't even have the courtesy to issue a joint statement.

[itwasntme]

Having burnt my fingers with the pathetic resale value of my Cruze due to Chevy's exit, I'd think very very hard before buying a Ford..

Can anyone list out what setups Ford has in India like number of plants, centers of excellence, other JVs etc?

[GTO]

And Mahindra's statement rolls in:

Mahindra & Mahindra, a part of the USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group and Ford Motor Company have mutually, amicably determined they will not complete a previously announced automotive joint venture between their companies. The action followed passing of the December 31, “longstop”, or expiration, date of a definitive agreement the organizations entered into in October 2019.

According to the companies, the outcome was driven by fundamental changes in global economic and business conditions – caused, in part, by the global pandemic – since the agreement was first announced. Those changes influenced separate decisions by Ford and Mahindra to reassess their respective capital allocation priorities.

Mahindra said that this decision will not have any impact on its product plan. It is well positioned in its core true SUV DNA and product platforms with a strong focus on financial performance. In addition, Mahindra is accelerating its efforts to establish leadership in electric SUVs.

Emphasis mine. The disagreement is on money!

What was Mahindra supposed to pay Ford or invest in this JV? My best guess = due to the pandemic, Mahindra did a u-turn on their offer and changed it to a lower amount.

OR

Ford got a better offer from somewhere else.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Are we supposed to trust them now that 're-assessing their capital allocation priorities' 'caused in-part by the global pandemic' would mean full commitment to the Indian market?
Looks like the best case scenario will be to flog the current ageing lineup for a few years with few CBU imports to boost image.

Agree with your assessment. Those quoted lines remind me of Harley Davidson.
Since they have already sold significant numbers, like you said they'll flog the current lineup for 2-3 years and rid themselves of the stocks and spares.
IMO I don't see them hanging around for more than 3 years although I would hope otherwise.

Originally Posted by NICHE

Ford entered JV with Mahindra only because they realized that they alone cannot run the business profitably here. It was at a when there was no Corona or severe crisis. Now things are much worse. Calling off the JV now has only one meaning - they started packing the bags. Being a figo owner this is definitely a bad news for me.

Correct, what I fail to understand is with products like the Figo, Ecosport and Endeavour how can they start tanking in a market driven by hatchbacks, CSUVs and SUVs.
Personally I had high hopes with this JV to bring the heat on to Hyundai/KIA but

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by GTO

---

Ford got a better offer from somewhere else.

If so, likely to be with the Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Will explore contract manufacturing?

Ford will definitely focus aggressively on its other big global JV with Volkswagen where the partners will work on vans and pickups as well as autonomous driving and electric mobility. This is largely intended for Europe and perhaps the US too.

It is too early to say if this partnership can be worked out in India too given that the Volkswagen Group is just about getting ready for a new innings with Skoda leading the way

Link

[CARDEEP]

I believe it's more of Mahindra's fault (if you can call it so) than beleaguered Ford. For the former was more busy in selling Ssangyong Motors Subsidiary, than work on finalizing this deal simultaneously. We have seen businesses successfully close bigger deals than this one.

Yes Ford is shaky at the moment & lot rests on new product launch (Kuga as my acquaintance told me). Hopefully it's not nixed, or was this product driver of Ford's decision? I hope I'm not forced to sell my Aspire (Diesel) because if it.

[da_lowrider]

There is one other distant and outside possibility. TML.

While TML is doing better, in the long run it cannot sustain investments and and new products with a primarily single market approach. With the recent tensions with China, their hope of securing a Chinese JV is also not likely to move forward. For the most part, TML offers similar synergies as Mahindra - the electric vehicle development option (better as their platform seems to be further along). An SUV platform where the hard yards in terms of cost reduction have already been done and the opportunity to jointly develop hatchbacks / sedans.

This of course is pure conjecture.

[Turbanator]

My own guess, FORD HQ sees a potential in Indian market. Overall, 2021 is expected to be growth year everywhere in Automotive or at least that's the assumptions of most CEO's. I know of a certain large component supplier who deals in Automotive & Industry 60-40, they have set much higher budget allocations to Auto sector over Industry.

Mahindra is under pressure from Korean venture and in profits with Agri and PV business so this parting can be win-win for both

[Amsdoc]

As a past owner of 5 fords, all of which have been a joy to drive, I really am apprehensive about Ford's future in India.

Problem is, what they can offer and how much they are willing to invest in India. Their traditional powerhouse vehicles in Europe (fiesta,focus,mondeo) and the US (F series,ranger,escape,fusion) are unlikely to cut it in India due to being priced out by rivals and changing global trends. So they are left with what they currently have; the cheap small hatch falling out of favour(Figo/Aspire), a small SUV that is being bettered by rivals(Ecosport) and a large SUV that sells in low numbers (Endeavour)

The new C segment SUV was supposed to bridge the gap but with the Mahindra engine, they will now have to offer it in one of their engines which are all underpowered units for smaller cars. They wont give it the Endy's engines. Not sure if they will go out and develop a new engine. The Kuga was a perfect fit for India had they got it here years ago. But now that also seems improbable.

So, with not much to offer and difficulty in investing heavily on newer products, I put Ford's chances of exiting India very high. And that makes me very sad.

[DicKy]

Looks like the planned/announced/rumoured products are on track. Just that the JV is called off.
Have a good feeling about this, though many sources keep on saying Ford India's future is doubtful.

The agreements to share BS VI petrol engines and C segment SUV have already been formalized. The project W605 – C SUV for Ford based on the new generation Mahindra XUV platform has already been kicked off and is likely to hit the roads by end of 2022 and both Mahindra and Ford have actively negotiated the joint B SUV project called B772 including an electric vehicle.

https://m.economictimes.com/industry...w/80055663.cms

Originally Posted by volkman10

If so, likely to be with the Škoda Auto Volkswagen India Will explore contract manufacturing?

Possible. Ford is already working with VAG for the next gen Ranger/Amorak. And I believe in EVs too.