Ford and Mahindra partnership: Ford to end independent India business with new Mahindra deal

Ford and Mahindra partnership – Ford to expand business through Mahindra

It’s been almost a year since the strategic alliance was announced that will help Ford expand its product line-up in India and will allow Mahindra to revamp its portfolio too. Now there is some more news.  Ford is nearing a deal with Mahindra & Mahindra to form a new joint-venture company in India, a move that will likely see the U.S. automaker cease independent operations in the country. In this new deal, the situation is of Ford will form a new unit in India in which it will hold a 49 percent stake, while Mahindra will own 51 percent. will form a new unit in India in which it will hold a 49 percent stake, while Mahindra will own 51 percent.

With Ford already have invested around 2 billion dollars over the past 2 decades and will be handing over existing facilities and staff to Mahindra to decide and how to run.

Ford and Mahindra partnership – First SUV coming in 2020

We guess the initial plan to build cars along with each other is still on. The Ford and Mahindra partnership was initially to build two SUVs together, with an electric version of the Ford Aspire compact sedan also being part of the joint activities. The electric version of the Ford Aspire will use the technology from Mahindra which has had experience selling the E2O electric hatchback in India. Both, Ford and Mahindra are very interested compact SUV segment. Besides the full-size SUV, the Endeavour, Ford has the Ecosport and the Freestyle.

The lure of the SUV body style and mouthwatering pricing (due to the lower tax on sub-four-meter cars) shows us why this segment is performing so well in India. Both manufacturers have understood the immense potential for this segment to grow further and like other carmakers; Ford and Mahindra to want to cash in this ever-expanding market. The joint venture will either use the SsangYong Tivoli (Mahindra’s S201) or Ford’s Maruti Vitara Brezza rival (codename: B763), that is currently being developed. The Ford and Mahindra/SsangYong SUVs will, however, wear different ‘top hats’ which will make the cars look very different. This means that the body style will be radical and different. ‘Badge engineering’ is not something either company wants to do. In the market, these cars will fiercely compete with each other. This SUV is expected to come in 2020.

Also Read: Honda to go the SUV route

Ford and Mahindra partnership – Other SUVs

The latest car that we will see from the Ford and Mahindra partnership is a Ford SUV which will essentially be a new generation Mahindra XUV500. The plans, however, for the new generation XUV500 have been delayed and dropped. The new XUV500 will come in 2020 now. Mahindra has announced that the XUV700 which will launch near the end of the year will be the last launch of the year and there will be no launches after that till 2020. The Ford meanwhile might still get the XUV500 and get a car ready to take on the likes of Hyundai Creta and the Jeep Compass. We don’t think it will be a seven-seater as the XUV500, but it will be a great car’s underpinnings to have.

Next up is the power train-sharing aspect of the Ford and Mahindra deal. We could see Ford’s C-SUV use Mahindra’s next-gen BS-VI-compliant 2.0-litre diesel, while Ford’s new Dragon petrol engine could be used for all M&M’s compact SUVs. Win-win situation here for both manufacturers. We can see a lot of interesting details of this deal transpire in the coming few months and also see some really cool cars come in.

Ford and Mahindra partnership – The deal

The future we can say is still not bleak for Ford. The company posted it’s best results in terms of sales and profits last year. They are looking for a smart partner and deal. Ford is not done in India, We think a strategic deal will help the company in the long run.

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