India to Build Ford's Small-Displacement Engines

India has grown a lot recently and Ford is willing to take full advantage of the local market boom. Besides the fact that it's willing to export the Figo, which is built locally, the company will also manufacture its low-displacement gasoline and diesel engines in the country. Ford India currently operates an engine production plant in Tamil Nadu, with a capacity of up to 250,000 units per year, with one of the products made there, the 1.4 and the 1.6-liter, exported to Thailand and Africa.

"We have defined India as the hub for low-displacement, fuel-efficient gasoline and diesel engines for local needs as well as the Asia-Pacific and African regions," President Michael Boneham was quoted as saying by Wall Street Journal.

"This (portfolio of engines) will continue to grow... we will be bringing new engines as part of the new models coming to India. But the small-car segment is important. We don't want to be continuing as a niche layer with just one product in that segment."

Furthermore, Ford is looking into ways to reduce costs of the production process for multiple vehicles sold in foreign markets by using more parts manufactured in India. Ford is already building the Figo in India and announced recently that the vehicle will be exported to approximately 50 markets, with Europe also on the list of the regions to get the car.

"Localization is going to a key part of our strategy, although not for all models," he said. "The Figo has a localization level of 85% and that's a sensible benchmark. You will see similar levels in some models," he added.