Ford's Sanand plant output by next year

Company expects first prototype to come out by the end of this year

Ford India, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, expects its plant at Sanand in Gujarat to start output by next year.

“The facility is coming up well. We expect to see the prototype by 2014-end and production by next year,” said Nigel Harris, president. He was speaking on the sidelines of Ford’s corporate social responsibility initiative Happy School here.

While Harris declined to reply to a question on the type of cars to be rolled out from the plant, he noted small cars were sold the most in India.

Harris said Ford India’s exports were growing, adding the company expected the trend to continue. He said the firm’s growth over three-four months was quite good.

Ford India recently said the first vehicle from the plant would out by early 2015. Once operational, the facility will employ 5,000 directly and have an initial capacity of 240,000 cars and 270,000 engines a year.

On whether the firm would bring Ford Ka, a concept car it launched in Brazil, to India, he said the company would see.

Ford India on Friday announced the launch of Happy School in 21 schools here. The programme seeks to improve access to education in primary schools by addressing gaps in academic support, health, nutrition and infrastructure.