Recently, a job advertisement about Ford India hiring for the position of Product Manager, EV Platform was doing the rounds on the internet. But when the LinkedIn account from which the post was made was searched, it was found that the account was disabled. This comes as the company earlier this month filed a patent for the design of the Ford Endeavor for the Indian car market.
A Ford spokesperson said that the company itself has not published any official circular about potential hires anywhere (LinkedIn and other recruitment platforms). However, this baseless news intensified and was published by many publications without prior confirmation or official statements from the company.
Ford exited the Indian automobile market in September 2021 as it could not keep up with the competition. The last car to be launched from Ford's factory in Chennai was a white Ecosport, and with this last model, Ford became the third major automaker to exit the Indian car market after General Motors and Daewoo.
The company sold its plant at Sanand in Gujarat to Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd for INR 725.7 crore. The company was also selling the Tamil Nadu plant and the deal was in its final stage but at the last minute in December 2023, Ford backed out of the sale agreement with the JSW Group.
Having retained its plant in Tamil Nadu state despite previous plans to sell it, Ford has a strategic advantage in restarting operations. Regulatory approvals have been obtained for the potential sale of the plant, making it easier for Ford to resume manufacturing.
After all, Ford has several models in its electric vehicle portfolio, such as the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit van, but none of them come from the platform the company uses to make the Endeavor or Everest, for which the company has filed a patent.
Retooling the production of the new Endeavor will also be relatively simple as the previous Endeavor shared some underpinnings with the latest model. Is Ford trying to create a buzz to raise money to return to India?
Also Read: Sedan, Hatchbacks, SUVs, and MUVs: All you need to know about car design
