[ajmat]

This puts the Government in a real quandary. They already have a bloody nose from preventing Great Wall taking over the former GM facility, now will they prevent MG from taking over Ford?

20000+ Potentially affected due to the pride factor. I hope some pragmatism steps in!

[amitayu]

MG is presently owned by SAIC which is Chinese state-owned, right?

This move will have lot of political connotations.

But right now, as a Ford owner, I see no tangible benefits for us. Nothing changes for Ford owners, just that the employees may be bailed out of their misery.

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by ajmat

...20000+ Potentially affected due to the pride factor. I hope some pragmatism steps in!

Pride factor and pragmatism? Memories seem to be very short in the ‘civvy street’ and the focus exceedingly narrow!

The argument that it’s got to be business as usual in all other dealing with the Chinese just does not cut ice. Especially when even every private business in that country is beholden to the CPC and will obey their every single diktat.

In the short-term there will be job losses and pain for us when we deny Great Wall that GM factory. However that’s just a small, miniscule part of the story.

[Iyencar]

I laughed when I read this. This is MG we're talking about guys. Let them actually do something before we waste time discussing the Chinese, Americans and Freemasons. For all we know it's just the crack PR team at work making hay while the sun shines (or sets in Ford's case).

[warrioraks]

There was a news article some time back with a comment from a representative of TN government. The person had mentioned that another manufacturer is in talks with Ford to take over the facilities without disclosing further details. Was not expecting it to be MG. If this deal goes through, then it will be of the biggest FDIs from China in recent times I guess.

[AZT]

Great Wall should also be in the fray here. Unless they've completely shelved their plans, I'm sure its one of the companies Ford is talking to.

[niruvrs9669]

Wonder if the following is a righteous act by Ford given the context;

Selling the plants to Chinese competitor and saving the job loss of its Indian employees but giving a competitor edge to a Chinese company in Indian market.

I wish Toyota had taken over Ford’s plants .

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

This is interesting.

MG started by taking over the Halol facility from General Motors which had a capacity of 80000 units per annum and they have invested to increase that capacity to 1L units. They currently have about 4000 units of the Gloster and Hector - which leaves another 4000 units approx for the Astor. If Astor really takes off, this would be tight - but looks decent overall for the current requirements.

However, what they are looking to add now - is an additional capacity of 4,40,000 units (?) per year from both Sanad and Chennai plants. That's huge for a company which doesn't have presence in volume segments. Overkill? They should probably just get the Sanand plant which is supposed to be ultra modern and state of the art?

Should have aggressive plans for the rumoured new platform with a mainstream sub-4m SUV included.

They are looking at the export market, saic have big plans to expand into the African and Latam emerging markets.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by ajmat

This puts the Government in a real quandary. They already have a bloody nose from preventing Great Wall taking over the former GM facility, now will they prevent MG from taking over Ford?

20000+ Potentially affected due to the pride factor. I hope some pragmatism steps in!

Vedanta didn't happen for same pride. Sorry but your reference may be cheeky but totally irrelevant. We need to watch patiently as to what happens in this case.

Anyway Indians have a big heart & many jobs & businesses have gone to South-East Asian Countries & even Bangladesh because of labour unions strikes/ activism in Haryana, West Bengal & elsewhere.

[basuk]

Originally Posted by niruvrs9669

I wish Toyota had taken over Ford’s plants .

Wonder why did Ford not speak with Tatas and kept the Ford EcoSport and Figo/Aspire afloat in the Indian market.

EcoSport would have perfectly complemented Tata Nixon and other models and sales and service channels would have help Tata and Ford both.

[TaurusSHO]

Originally Posted by basuk

Wonder why did Ford not speak with Tata

They did, along with many others.
https://m.economictimes.com/industry...w/84836889.cms

Ford India has approached Skoda-Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor, Tata Motors, Shanghai Automotive or MG Motor, Changan Automobiles, and some electric vehicle (EV) startups including Ola Electric to explore partnerships, contract manufacturing opportunities, or even sale of one of its facilities.

[Shreyas]

Originally Posted by basuk

Wonder why did Ford not speak with Tatas and kept the Ford EcoSport and Figo/Aspire afloat in the Indian market.

EcoSport would have perfectly complemented Tata Nixon and other models and sales and service channels would have help Tata and Ford both.

FIAT too partnered with TATA for some time. During that period, it was a nightmare for FIAT owners servicing their cars at facilities shared with TATA. Our cars used to be given the least attention (an SA explicitly mentioned the same). Who knows, something along these lines may happen and ultimately deter new buyers away from Ford.

[SolidusSnake]

Originally Posted by amitayu

MG is presently owned by SAIC which is Chinese state-owned, right?

This move will have lot of political connotations.

But right now, as a Ford owner, I see no tangible benefits for us. Nothing changes for Ford owners, just that the employees may be bailed out of their misery.

Yes I also wonder how this deal will proceed. For acquiring Ford facilities, they will have to bring funds into India for which they will require government approval which considering that Great Wall still has not received till now, will be very difficult to come by.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by SolidusSnake

Yes I also wonder how this deal will proceed. For acquiring Ford facilities, they will have to bring funds into India for which they will require government approval which considering that Great Wall still has not received till now, will be very difficult to come by.

MG is a "British" company, that might make things pragmatic !

[omranga98]

Originally Posted by PYSO

The way the Chinese have won market share in most of the products that we consume
The only show stopper may be geopolitical rivalry. But geopolitical rivalry hasn't really stopped Chinese brands

Flash forward to a couple months since this post and here we are:

a) Tata confirms taking over the Ford Factory.

b) No word or online article on MG being interested in buying Ford's factory. Literally Google it: Not a single article after 16th to 20th September.

It's a pretty clever way to stay in news for relatively free(?) by just slipping a slight this and that on something trending and most online portals, influencers will pick it up.