US automaker Ford Motor Company will invest INR 3.25 bn (USD 390 mn) to revive its idle Maraimalainagar plant near Chennai, make it Ford’s first powertrain manufacturing facility outside the US, The Hindu Businessline reports quoting Global Director Martin Evirritt. The 100% export-oriented unit will begin producing high-tech engines by 2029, generating around 600 jobs, company officials told the business daily after signing an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government.

Back in the game: Ford is returning to Indian manufacturing after exiting vehicle production in 2021. The new facility joins its existing engine plant and 12,000 employees in global business operations in Tamil Nadu.

Background: Ford entered India in 1995 through a JV with Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra before becoming a fully owned subsidiary in 1998 — investing heavily in plants in Chennai and Gujarat’s Sanand. In 2021, Ford announced its manufacturing exit in India, citing over USD 2 billion in losses across a decade, but retained its Chennai-based engine export and global business services, as per Reuters.

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