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Ford to build new technology centre in India

Ford has a long established relationship with India. However, while sales have not yet met expectations, recent reports have detailed how the manufacturer is redoubling its efforts in the form of a giant new tech centre to be built in Chennai.

The company is investing $195 million in the project and expects to create 3,000 jobs. According to Ford, the new tech centre will “serve as a hub for product development, mobility solutions, and business services for India and the world."

Moreover, the 28-acre site will be an "environmentally friendly campus" that utilises the best in green energy, including solar panels and water-recovery systems. Ford said that the site would house a total of 12,000 employees, 3,000 of who will be new "highly skilled" workers.

The remaining 9,000 employees will be relocated from Ford’s six other sites in Chennai. The new centre will be Ford’s second largest employer, beaten only by its world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

For graduates, the news suggests the possibility of a long and fruitful career with Ford. The centre is the latest announcement since Ford began its campaign to expand in Asia in 2011. Already aware that it missed the boat in relation to China’s booming tech industry, Ford was keen to invest in the next emerging market: India.

However, like many plans, they were derailed. So far India’s new car market has been slow to pick up. Ford’s current factories have the capacity to build 440,000 vehicles a year, while the Indian market was buying fewer than 150,000 of them. This caused Ford to switch to an export-focused strategy in 2013, which, as CEO Mark Fields stated in September, hasn’t gone to plan either.

“We've set up India as an export base for small vehicles. However, our market performance and our financial performance have not met our expectations, so we are in the process of re-evaluating our strategy and our business model for India,” he said.

"Our new mobility business could be a factor that plays in there. That's why you saw us about a month ago take an equity position in Zoomcar, which is the largest car-sharing service in India."

Despite setbacks, the newly announced tech centre implies that Ford still has big hopes for India. Executive chairman Bill Ford said in a statement that: "India is not only a vibrant market for cars and new mobility ideas, it’s also rich with talent, technical expertise and ingenuity. This new centre will help us attract the best and brightest, and make Chennai a true hub of innovation for Ford around the world."

It's not just India that is set to benefit from Ford’s entrepreneurial spirit; the carmaker has two other centres in the Asia Pacific region as well as facilities in the US, Germany and elsewhere. Ford aims to use these facilities to "drive innovative ideas for Ford's emerging business models in mobility, analytics and connected vehicles."

India seems to be the destination of choice for tech investors looking to expand. Whether you are an IT, engineering or cyber-security graduate, there are a myriad of roles available on our job board. So why not get involved today and see where the opportunities may take you?