Chennai Brains Behind Ford’s Global Hits

‘We participate in the design/development of components and systems for electric vehicles, internal combustion engines, and hybrid vehicles.’

Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

It was in August 2022 that Ford Motor Company exited India by winding up its manufacturing units.

Even two years after the global automotive giant shut down its unit in Chennai, the same city, through Ford Business Solutions (FBS), is turning out to be the brain behind key design and development aspects of all the globally successful models by the US major in the past two years.

According to FBS, the company’s top-selling models globally — including the F-Series, Explorer, Transit, Ranger, and others — are getting a touch of India in them through the ‘design and development of specific components’.

FBS oversees the global capabilities of the company through its 12,000 employees at its Global Technology & Business Center in Chennai.

The FBS team is assisting the global Ford team in computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, and software development, an executive said in response to questions from Business Standard.

Interestingly, FBS is in the process of hiring around 3,000 more people in Chennai over a period of three years to increase its employee strength to 15,000.

“We participate in the design/development of components and systems for electric vehicles, internal combustion engines, and hybrid vehicles in FBS,” he said.

IMAGE: Ford Motor Company launches the new F-150 pickup truck at its Dearborn truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Among the above-mentioned models, the F-Series is one of Ford’s biggest moneymakers.

During the first half of this year, it was the highest-selling passenger vehicle in the US and also America’s best-selling pickup truck for the 48th consecutive year.

It reportedly sold over 750,000 trucks in 2023 and has already moved 352,406 in the first six months of this year.

“Ford was again the no. 1 selling pickup manufacturer in the world in the second quarter of this year. The F-Series truck lineup remains America’s best-selling truck. Transit, America’s best-selling van, posted a new first-half sales record. Ford set an all-time record for sport utility vehicle sales in the US during the first half of 2024, topping the previous record set in 2017,” the executive said.

Not just in America, brands like Ford Ranger are the best-selling midsize pickup trucks in many markets, including Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

“We also support the development of the Ranger, which is one of Ford’s best-selling vehicles globally,” he added.

“Ford creates wonderful and valuable products and experiences that inspire passion and loyalty in every customer. Team members at FBS work closely with their counterparts in other markets and engineering centres to design and develop specific components, systems, and features (not the entire vehicle),” he said.

Several of the products where the FBS team participated in development and design were recognised for their appeal amongst global consumers.

For example, the 2024 Ford F-Series Super Duty (part of the Ford Pro offering for commercial customers) is the most appealing large heavy-duty pickup in the JD Power 2024 US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.

In addition to this, Ford-brand SUVs had a record first half of 2024 on sales of 406,467 — up 3 per cent, led by Explorer, America’s best-selling three-row SUV, with sales totalling 104,803.

Ford India closed its manufacturing unit at Maraimalai Nagar in 2022.

Ford India announced the phasing out of its unit on September 9, 2021, and stopped production in August 2022.

FBS is the group’s global talent office that supports all functions in the company. It has centres in Chennai, Mexico City, and Hungary, which support not only technology but also enterprise technology, global data insights and analytics, finance, and human resources, among others.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com