Ford goes beyond Make in India, will Design in India

Global automobile companies Mercedes and BMW have been gung-ho on the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Now, American carmaker Ford is giving Indian automobile manufacturing a new dimension — its India subsidiary is considering designing a new vehicle in the country.

The move will make Ford the first global automobile major to design a vehicle here. Typically, global carmakers with a manufacturing base in India collaborate with their global research teams.

Ford, it is learnt, will design the new Fiesta (to replace the existing one) at its research and development and engineering facilities in Chennai. The product, which will cater to the domestic and export markets, is expected to be launched in 2017. Read more…