It’s Ford time

The official did not say how Ford, which is struggling with losses, plans to fund this facility. Ford has put its iconic British brands Land Rover and Jaguar on the block, with Tata Motors Ltd and others in the race to buy them. ‘њThere is a huge demand building up in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and other markets across the world, and Ford India will cater to the requirements,’ќ said this official.

He declined to provide the exact timeline for the project, saying the finer details are being worked out just now. ‘њFord Motor’s top management will make an announcement shortly about this new project,’ќ the official added. Ford India’s official spokesperson said, ‘њWe continue to study various opportunities in the market and have nothing to talk about at this point of time.’ќ The company is on a 10-day break for Christmas and its annual plant maintenance.

The car maker, which makes the Ikon, Fusion and Fiesta passenger cars in India, and also the Endeavour’”a sports utility vehicle’”currently buys its petrol engines from the Rs570-crore Avtec Ltd, a GP-CK Birla group company, in which private equity firm Actis also holds stake.

It is unclear how Ford, which is struggling with loses, plans to fund this facility Asked if this would mean that the company will pull out of the arrangement with Avtec, the Ford official said that the company would continue to buy from Avtec, but also make petrol engines on its own.