Ford's Rs1,300 crore global business centre to start operations by 2019

Chennai: Detroit-based Ford Motor Pvt. Ltd (FMPL) will be investing Rs.1,300 crore in the new Ford Global Technology and Business Centre, which will be ready to start operations by the first quarter of 2019, according to David Dubensky, managing director of FMPL, who also heads the global business services for the company.

Dubensky was talking at the sidelines of the Indo-US Trade Conclave, ‘The March towards $500 billion Trade’.

FMPL got the Tamil Nadu government’s approval in March to set up a global technology and business centre under the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd’s (ELCOT) special economic zone (SEZ) in Shollinganalur, near Chennai. ELCOT is a state government-run promotional agency for IT industries.

The company is looking at consolidating all its services that are currently spread across Chennai, Coimbatore and Gurgaon.

Dubensky said that Chennai will eventually emerge as a centre for the company to design cars after integration with the global engineering centre. “This (India) is a small car market and that is the logical place we are looking at,” he added.

Mint had earlier reported that Ford is integrating its two Indian units , Ford Motor Pvt. Ltd, which provides support services to Ford offices around the world in the areas of information technology, product engineering, and big data, and Ford India Pvt. Ltd, which makes and sells Ford vehicles in the country.

The new centre, spread across 28 acres, will include a research and development unit and also a product testing centre. The company will look at adding 2,000 employees to its workforce, said Dubensky.

Ford has invested over $2 billion in India to set up two facilities—in Chennai and Sanand in Gujarat. Together, these units have the capacity to make 610,000 engines and 440,000 passenger vehicles a year. The company exports vehicles and engines made at its two facilities in India to as many as 50 countries.

FMPL was incorporated in 1998. It provides support services to Ford offices around the world for, accounting, book-keeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy; market research and public opinion polling; and business and management consultancy.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.