[yd_gli]

I see a lot of posts that have sense of bewilderment over Ford's refusal to bring their global portfolio over to India or develop products specifically for the Indian market. The only time period when this was an option was a decade ago. They didn't act then and it makes no sense now.

To be honest, why would they stay? India as a nation has no well laid out vision on transportation & power infrastructure for the next 20-30 years. The future of automobiles is autonomous cars, EVs/Hydrogen cells, smart roads etc and not a gas guzzling 6 cylinder Endeavor. Where does our country stand on all this? With our dismal infra and road discipline autonomous cars are not feasible. We can't even paint the road lines straight. Our power grid is not reliable enough to switch to EVs. Our social structure of living in high rises makes this even more difficult. We all know the state of our "smart city" initiatives. With most of the developed major auto markets setting definite timelines for the obsolescence of ICE, India and the rest of the third world risk becoming the Cuba equivalent of the modern world; still running on old technology decades after the rest of the world phased it out.

The future that Ford wants is one where the Mustang EV/F-150 Lightning etc compete with the likes of Tesla/Rivian etc. Not one where the Ecosport is competing with the Brezza. I'll be shocked if they stay on. We will be left with OEMs that cannot/don't want to compete at the highest level of automobile technology.

[07CR]

Like some of you have mentioned above, Tbhp should have been a bit more careful on this stuff. Many people on social media trust Team Bhp's article as the final word. However, they might not be able to differentiate between a general article on Team Bhp and an article preceded by text- "RUMOUR".

I hope TBhp corrects this at the earliest.

[shreevishnu]

I see lots of folk who could be affected by this, especially customers who put down hard earned money to buy competent products.
Yes, most fords (except newest Figo/Aspire) drive like Fords, that sweet spot in ride/handling is something anyone would pay a premium for!

But realistically, let us also take a minute to see the (very many) great moves & mis-steps made by ford over the years:
1. Launched Escort with Diesel - Orion, that Endura 1.8 was a lump that is best forgotten except for mileage & refinement. Was a nightmare to get parts for this car, and when they were available - prices were stratospheric!
2. Launched Ikon with 1.3 Clxi, then moved to RoCam, then the Nxts had the iron head 1.6 - not great efficiency, but great to drive.
The 1.8 endura diesel was best forgotten.
This car was good to buy (well-priced, great handling, decent fuel economy for the performance, (scary braking)) but maintenance/spares were stratospheric, along with BAD dealers. Also, they kept pushing the ikon for too long, even with the fiesta diesel in it, sold mostly as taxi!
3. The Mondeo & Fusion were great flashes in the pan, overpriced, but competent products. The fusion in the next avatar was a great seller!
4. The Fiesta introduction with 1.4, 1.6 L petrols & 1.4 Diesel was the first truly competent all rounder from Ford. Great cars in the Indian context, frugal, handled like fords, with well priced spares (child part strategy) & very few niggling issues. Truly successful with the masses (1.4 diesel) & enthusiast (Fiesta S?).
5. FIGO - great car, almost the benchmark in the segment (almost as good as swift?). All the learnings from previous models were put into one great product (well priced, frugal, drove like a ford), backed by great service (price & responsiveness). Some mis-steps (red interiors, blue interiors, no tilt steering) were fixed quickly. An agile company with hunger for success.
6. New Figo/Aspire & Ecosport.
The New Figo/Aspire drove like Maruti's when launched. The 1.5L diesel 8v has been long in the tooth since launch. The European versions on this engine have consistently made more power. These cars are built for profitability, we already have market share, they dont deserve better for what they pay - This was the start of the decline. In a market of diminishing returns, you cant be me-too product & hope for class leading results!
Ecosport - REVOLUTIONARY product - perfect fit for market needs, any flaws were overlooked for the great benefits of an SUV - at launch and till 2+ years when the Brezza arrived! It was the iPhone of the sub 4m SUV segment, great & profitable.
But this also debuted Fords' "more variants than your local chat walla" strategy!
Onions are expensive? Use less or delete, same logic was seen here with constant feature changes!

Anybody who bought the Ecosport early will remember the ~1.8L price cut announced on the day of the launch of the Vitara Brezza. You've lost consumer confidence as a brand when you do this! With mediocre products you cant hope to have spectacular returns once the competition catches up (& beats you!).
With a management who is used to great profits (from ecosport), they didn't invest in newer (lesser profit) products! You can get lucky in inventing a segment & then ruling the price till competition reacts, but you cant hope to do it all the time! (Renault-Nissan - Duster (success), Lodgy (failure), Triber (success), Go (failure), Even Toyota's Etios never broke down even if it was CHEAP!).
You have to be at it, some work, some dont! INVEST in the portfolio of options, some will work. You need to be close to your core charecteristics!

Endeavour - basically, old gen was sold for too long with a facelift. New one is having a new variant (even engine/transmission) everytime you go to the showroom, or a new price - not a way to build consumer confidence! Your agility in making changes can be seen as being unsure of consumer demand!

With electrification changing the world in mature markets, profitable (not world beating) businesses like selling previous gen ICE vehicles in India would be a cash cow, if you figure out the right mix of attributes.

What has worked is cars that drive like fords!

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by sanchari

The report on Ford's exit was published in The Economic Times, which claims to have the highest circulation for business newspapers in India, and is part of Times group which routinely claims to be India's No 1 newspaper. They claimed it was based on their sources.

To claim that T-BHP forum is misleading people and will cause loss of goodwill to Ford, or that its spreading rumors is laughable! If Ford is going to sue, they will first have to sue the Times group!

Economic Times article is titled
"Ford to close manufacturing ops India". The story has lots of details on various options that Ford India may be considering, one of those options being selling their manufacturing plants, and leveraging the manufacturing plants of another automaker to manufacture Ford cars. Nowhere is it mentioned in the news article that Ford is planning to exit India.

The title of this thread is "Ford to wrap up India operations"

They are two very different things. Totally different. When you publish things publicly, it's always good to try wearing the shoes of the person/entity at the other end of the bargain.

[sanchari]

Originally Posted by PYSO

leveraging the manufacturing plants of another automaker to manufacture Ford cars.

I haven't come across any report which said Ford is looking at leveraging manufacturing plants of others to produce Ford cars. Can you please share some links about the same?

Almost all of the reports that I have read mention either contract manufacturing by Ford for other companies, or closing the manufacturing factories all together.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/84421288.cms

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by sanchari

I haven't come across any report which said Ford is looking at leveraging manufacturing plants of others to produce Ford cars. Can you please share some links about the same

https://m.motoroctane.com/article/22...urvival/221330

"Towards this, the American automaker has been in talks with various car companies for both contract manufacturing and/or sale of its Indian factories, the latest with Ola, which could use Ford’s factories to build cars. This basically mean that with no overhead costs in place, the new Ford India plan could focus only on selling cars in India and providing R&D support to its manufacturing partner while it handles sales and expansion of the brand via dealerships and after sales service."

In short, if Ford gets partners for contract manufacturing, they will keep their plants

If they don't get any partners for contract manufacturing, they may sell their plants. In that case they will select a manufacturing partner to continue manufacturing and selling Ford cars in India.

[landcruiser123]

Sad day, but the day is coming - sooner or later. For reference, Ford left Japan and Indonesia a few years ago too.

Surprising thing is that - unlike GM which has average Daewoo cars, Ford has a good small car portfolio. Models like the Fiesta are segment leaders in Europe.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by PYSO

I was not defending my friend. I had considered multiple times to ask him to tone down his blogs. Somehow i never did. Now I regret that.

When it's written in a public forum with zero evidence, both are equally criminal.

Expressing opinions privately, is not the same as publishing it publicly.

Man, pls convey my sincere regards to your friend for calling spade-a-spade. I have read the article and he made a very very compelling case for under performance of the share price. I’m also a share holder but invested at 150 level during last years pandemic. The points he made are succinct and with evidence, nowhere has he made an insider trading charge against anyone, as far as I recall. Though he has called out the laziness and poor capital allocation skills of the management. I do salute his guts to take such a bold step in today’s world where everyone is just out to be politically correct, too correct, at all times.

Coming to the topic, it’s not a surprise to me if Ford is found to exit, for same reasons mentioned by other members multiple times.

I must add, one member from Bombay did point out the lack of dealerships in a city like Bombay. Case in point, I have a friend who’s currently looking to replace his Innova and he considered a Fortuner. I tried to convince him to take a TD of the Endeavor, reading such good ownership reviews on TBHP, most importantly much better ride quality compared to the Fortuner. Guy refused to even take a TD, saying no dealer around in Powai, how will he service it! I wasn’t aware that the sole dealer in this area has shut operations. Point is customers don’t even TD the vehicle, such is the situation of the Ford. He didn’t like the Fortuner either, but that’sa different matter. Most likely replace his 2nd Innova with Innova Crysta.

For those who think TBHP is what EVERYONE who wants to buy a car refers to, I hate to break it to you, that’s not the case. It’s only the ones who have interest in cars, driving will find this forum and go through the deep reviews. I have seen cases where people buy cars based on discounts, agnostic to the virtues/pitfalls of the car itself or in the basis of relationship with the dealer (yes,it’s true!). Mind you these are not 10-15L bracket vehicles but higher than that.

Lastly, Rushabh knows a thing or two about court cases from his past vehicle/s ownership, so I wouldn’t worry about it

Cheers

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Anyways, I reached out to my Ford dealer. Here is a communication relayed to all Ford dealers by Ford India, for whatever it is worth:

I am not sure whether dealers have officially been passed this piece of information by Ford India, because I found this yesterday itself on the Freestyle Owners Group India on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1988...5438391104825/



It will make a huge difference if Ford India themselves come out of their slumber and give a statement, because news like this which reaches so many people can shut their entire business in a matter of days! I know many people who have cancelled their EcoSport bookings just because of this piece of news!

[jithin23]

Just received this on the EcoSquads group on Facebook. Looks like Ford is ready to respond with template messages but the management needs to say something at least and not leave customers in panic. The TOI news alone made several people cancel their bookings and a drop in their stock prices

This was the message sent by Ford to its dealer principals and that guy accidentally sent it on the group.


Sad to see some people actually believing the template response


I wouldn't be surprised if Ford shuts shop in India. If the government was lenient on taxes, we would have had a few companies stay back and give a tough fight for quality stuff at a fair price in the car market.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

I am not sure whether dealers have officially been passed this piece of information by Ford India, because I found this yesterday itself on the Freestyle Owners Group India on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1988...5438391104825/

Attachment 2180210

This pic is not an official statement from Ford. He's just another Ford owner from Kerala. You can see the tone and certain obvious misses like most probably with 'M' being in caps. Officially the template response is the only one all of us will get till the management speaks up. My previous post shows the communication between the company and dealers as to how to respond if people ask them about the exit.

What's confusing me is that Ford has planned Figo AT launch on 22 July and EcoSport refresh in November. Unless the senior management speaks up, we need to take such information with a pinch of salt.

[Hemantteen]

In any market, in my opinion, people's sentiments matter a lot if not most.
When such rumours persist, more and more people either decide not to consider a ford or even cancel a booking. Then sales figure dwindle even further; seeing which people again stay away from ford.
At the end of the day, this cycle repeats and the rumour becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
Just my two cents.

[darkLightning]

I have been following the news around Ford closely (because I like Ford and would definitely want to own one either Endeavour or Ecosport). These are my thoughts on the matter -

• Ford will never have the kind of profits a Hyundai/Kia/Maruti has simply because to achieve that they will have to build cars which are not Ford.
  
• Ford's current portfolio is good and can get better with slight tweaking.
  
• Figo AT should have came long time ago.
  
• With Figo/Aspire/Freestyle Ford needs to pull a Honda Jazz that is add a Sunroof to them. If they can add Sunroof to Ecosport without much of structural change then I think it should be doable on these three too.
  
• Offer Freestyle with optional dual tone interiors.
  
• Endeavour needs the Bi-Turbo.
  
• Territory or something in that price and size range is a must have for Ford.
  
• What I feel is happening with Ford is that Ford India does not want to quit, they know they can turn profitable again but Ford HQ is not interested anymore in India.
  
• Whatever new versions we could be seeing can be inventory/material clearance too.
  
• Ford will continue to provide good services to existing customers. I have seen an article somewhere where it is stated that in India if a company exits our market then by law they have to provide services to customers for 10 years.
  
• If anyone at Ford has some business sense they would realise that while Indian operations are not profitable today but some years down the line (not in this decade) Ford can make hey again in India when our market has matured more towards EVs so it would make sense for them to have goodwill here even if they stop selling their cars.
  
• Consolidation could be the best approach for Ford India. Use contract manufacturing to cut losses due to extra capacity they have in their plants, this can keep Ford HQ from breathing down their neck as well. Focus fully on Ecosport new gen and Territory/4.5m Crossover/SUV.
  
• Ultimately what I feel is that Ford wants to stay but are not having a clear strategy so they are exploring all possible options and there definitely is urgency which could only mean that Ford HQ has given a timeline to Ford India.

[hortons15]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

The future that Ford wants is one where the Mustang EV/F-150 Lightning etc compete with the likes of Tesla/Rivian etc. Not one where the Ecosport is competing with the Brezza.

An unpopular opinion but you've said what needs to be said. Unless the mindset of our people changes to a focus on quality in everything they do and away from cheapness, I doubt anything will change. The government seems to be doing great work in creating infrastructure that is comparable to world standards (at least SE Asia) and only time will tell if our people's mindset changes too.

[Bhupesh_2628]

I really hate to say this but Ford's future in India is bleak.

It will take quite a few years for Indian market to mature.
On the other hand, major reshuffling of products by Ford USA focussing only on those segments which are profitable. Those products won't come to India anytime sooner or later.

Also, I don't think they will invest, research & develop any new product just for developing markets like us. Not worth the effort considering the profits in return.

They can otherwise concentrate only on bringing products to India that will give them huge profits to sustain longer.

Worrying part is exiting various markets including Brazil where the EcoSport was originally built. India is just a minuscule market for them considering their exit from other major markets.