Almost 16 years after commencing its operations in India, Ford India has achieved a momentous milestone as its Chennai vehicle assembly and engine Plant has produced One Millionth engine and vehicle. The one millionth vehicle that rolled off the assembly happens to be a new EcoSport. Started with an investment of $ 1 billion, Ford’s plant has a capacity to produce up to 3, 40,000 engines and 2, 00,000 vehicles annually.
The plant is spread over 350 acres and comprises of an engine assembly plant that started commercial operations in the year 2008. Its ability to produce both petrol and diesel engines concurrently is the highlighting point of the plant.
At present, the production facility rolls out three cars EcoSport, Endeavour and Fiesta and as a part of the Make in India initiative, Ford manufactures exports small cars and engines from its Chennai plant to over 40 global markets such as ASEAN, Europe, Africa and Middle-East. Additionally, Ford’s facility is designed in a way that causes minimal harm to environment by reducing the energy consumption by 16 percent and 30 percent water consumption since 2009 via regular enhancements. In 2015, Ford inaugurated its new manufacturing plant at Sanand, Gujarat that is focused on producing company’s latest flagships Figo Aspire and new Figo hatchback.
Mr. Balasundaram Radhakrishnan, executive director of manufacturing at Ford Chennai Vehicle Assembly & Engine Plant said, “Chennai is from where we started our make in India journey. Apart from being a global manufacturing hub for Ford, the facility has set new benchmarks in adopting processes that not only ensure global quality but significantly reduce our carbon footprint. The millionth vehicle and engine production milestone stands as a testament to the passion and dedication of more than 6,000 hardworking men and women at Chennai,”
