[Ford5]

Sanand state of the art engine manufacturing plant was the clearest sign they are looking to exit India. I think they’ll shift APAC engine production to India alongside making whatever America/Europe engines this plant is already making.

Endeavour 2.0 turbo engine BS6 and upwards was a reliability dip test and Indian buyers were Lab rats. Heck even reducing paint options for the Endeavour was appalling, squeezing every bit of operational rupee before pulling shutters.

Now I know what Toyota’s Touch the Perfection means. You buy a Toyota, not a car, and they will have your back.

[Dead_Pedal]

Sad to see Ford packing up. What worries me more is the pricing of the Fortuner. Will it touch 60L now? Absolutely no competition for Toyota and it's going to be complete monopoly.

[ksaurabh21]

XUV700 launch prices might be one of the factors I am guessing, but Ford's exit is definitely not a good news for car enthusiasts. Looks like Hyundai, Maruti, Tata and Mahindra will only remain after all possible exits, limiting the choice for customers.

[veyron_head]

I own an ecosport. Extremely happy with the car and even happier with the service. Don't miss anything I was used to at the famed Maruti for my previous car.

Ford made great cars, offered excellent service, yet failed! I only hope Skoda or VW aren't next. We will be monopolized by Indian car makers.

[Sebring]

Feeling really sad for Ford. Just by replicating the Ecosport from 5 Lakh rupee price bracket to 20 Lakh, would have seen them click. After all they founded this niche. Instead they wanted to be seen doing everything, from hatch to sedan. When those were the segments that were clearly declining, and in free fall. I would say this is a huge management failure to envision the future, and read the market correctly.

[Sids85]

The news was expected once the Mahindra JV fell through. Ford just couldn't keep up with the times and they cannot blame Indian taxation for their self-created problems. In an SUV crazy market like India, Ford had the first mover advantage with Ecosport and Endeavor but didn't bring anything of note after that. Neither did they thought about developing an India specific platform. They had ample time but were caught snoozing. Other players like Kia, MG, Nissan and Jeep have come in within this period and now hold more market share than the 2 decade old Ford. Even TATA and Mahindra reinvented their portfolios but nothing came from Ford. It's such a shame.

[warrioraks]

I borrowed a couple of graphics from August, 21 sales thread. The numbers are purely dismal considering the strong brand this company STILL enjoys in our country. These are the sort of numbers people in the boardroom would have seen month over month over month. Although they decided to pull the plug, this is a case study and Ford needs to do some hard introspection on this failure. Especially before they decide to venture out again in a new market outside US. A company which was a segment-maker, deeply loved by customers and powered with deep pockets was reduced to a speck of it's past self. Approximately 4000 people are losing their jobs because of this exit and I hope they find a new place soon.

[mug:mush]

As a former blue oval loyalist who drove drove the Ikon for 7yrs and then the Figo for 4yrs, I feel very sad and saw this coming. When I wanted to buy the EcoSport, my local Ford showroom even declined to take the booking as they were overwhelmed with the response for the just released car. After a week of discussion, they budged and told me to wait for 1+ yr for the delivery. I moved on. Ford did/ does not have a game plan. They came, they saw and they went

[Sunderdeep]

That's really unfortunate. Ford has given us some great cars over the years like Mondeo, Endeavour (1st and 2nd Gen), Ikon, Fiesta and Ecosport. They missed the trick with their smaller offerings which were kind of half-baked products and never really were the first choice for the first-time buyers. Ford's jack of all trades approach with Figo/Aspire never really worked because they lacked the oomph factor of Koreans and build quality like Europeans.

Sadly, they spent 2-3 crucial years finding a partner for a joint venture to utilize their production capacity which further took the focus away. Customer choices, tax structure in India, rapidly changing Govt. policies, Covid fiasco and not upgrading the portfolio for the last 5 years did them in.

With GM, Fiat and Ford shutting off their shops in India, I am afraid we are left with only half a dozen International brands that make good quality/safe cars. Time is running out for a couple of more brands, they need to set their house in order fast to avoid a similar situation.

[speedmiester]

This was always predicted.
My conversation with my connect in Ford India in July confirmed the worst fears.
At that point, I took a hard call to sell my Ecosport. The car had served me well and it was in pristine condition. Since I had planned to get an EV in 2022, I didn't want to get an hit on the resale at that point of time.

I will miss the Ecosport, but Ford India should have done better. Sad to see them go.

[sknair]

I was expecting this for last few months.
Sad to see them shut shop, they made good driver’s cars, I had Ikon 1.6 and currently owns an ecosport AT and endeavour 3.2.
Not that worried though, they have to legally provide support and services for minimum 15 years.

[GTO]

Incidentally, in the same month a year ago, another American icon exited India. Harley Davidson! Link to thread (Harley-Davidson exits India!).

Brands exiting our market isn't good for consumers at all. Indeed, it is competition that gives us better products & better prices.

Ford, GM, Harley, Fiat (as a brand), MAN Trucks are all gone. VW totally reduced its India commitment, Nissan has been in the ICU till very recently, while Audi took Nissan's place in the ICU. We need a market where 10 players have 10% each & fight fiercely everyday, not 2 players having 70%.

[REN]

Sad to see Ford go, but can't say I'm really surprised. I saw this coming as soon as the JV with Mahindra was called off. Feel so sorry for the affected employees.

I have really fond memories of our first-gen Figo which served our family incredibly well for nine years.

[arvindmanju]

Its sad to see Ford stop selling the mass market cars in India. I think they want to compete in the EV space where not many players are present yet. Money saved in not selling small ICE (Figo and Ecosport) might be used for development of EV cars for India. Its just my guess.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Absolutely. Ultimately all will exit India, citing the taxation and electrification of vehicles. Indian players like Tata, Mahindra and Maruti will be there and we will have to buy these cars only, take it or leave it. "Made in India" success.

Tax structure are same for all car manufactures in India, I am not sure how only these 3 car makers will benefit.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Approximately 4000 people are losing their jobs because of this exit and I hope they find a new place soon.

Even direct Ford employees will be more than this. Thousands more will be employed in dealerships and ancillary units. They all will be affected in a dull job market. So expect wide spread job losses in tens of thousands, direct and indirect combined. Export losses and loss of confidence in the market, can land extra blows. A big car manufacturer shutting shop can be one of the worst things which can happen to a country's economy.

Govt is sleeping like Kumbhkarna on one side increasing fuel prices and on other side not promoting EVs like other countries. Expect the country to very soon fall between two stools.