Ford India lays foundation stone for new plant

Ford India, a subsidiary of the American car maker Ford, laid the foundation stone for its US$1 billion manufacturing facility at Sanand in western India. The new car manufacturing plant is expected to be fully operational by 2014. “We are committed to substantially step up our car production output as we have plans to undergo a massive expansion of our business in the burgeoning car market,” said Michael Boneham, managing director of Ford India. Despite the slowdown in sales, Ford said it will proceed with its expansion plans. The company has already invested more than US$2 billion in its first plant in Tamil Nadu. During the Delhi Auto Expo 2012 held in early January this year, the company announced that it would launch eight new cars in India within the next two to three years. (March 25, 2012)