Key Points
Chennai:On Henry Ford Road in Maraimalai Nagar, about 50 km from Chennai, the once-bustling Ford car manufacturing plant now stands in silence, with only security personnel visible outside its gates..
The plant has remained a forlorn sight since Ford India halted operations in 2021..
On 13 September, just a day before Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin returned to Chennai after a 17-day trip to the US aimed at attracting investment, Ford announced it had submitted a letter of intent to the Tamil Nadu government, confirming its intention to use the Chennai plant for manufacturing for export...
Nevertheless, Ford Indias former executive Director Vinay Piparsania told ThePrint that Fords arrival would only benefit Tamil Nadu as they bring in world-class manufacturing techniques and are not entering the Indian market, but only using Chennais plant to manufacture products for exports...
While people from Mahindra group were looking for possible locations in the north, it was the people at Ford who told us that Tamil Nadu is the place to be, he remembered, adding that his experience with Ford enabled him to establish the Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai, and, later, set up the Mahindra World City, which is located just 10 kilometers away from the Ford plant in Maraimalai Nagar...
