Ford-Mahindra to jointly develop 9 new SUVs including all-new XUV500

After the first product launch from the Toyota-Suzuki in India in the form of Glanza, more such products from the manufacturer’s tie-up will come soon. Ford and Mahindra, the two automotive giants announced that they will join hands to develop new cars. In a new report on Financial Express says that the collaboration between the two manufacturers will develop as many as 9 new SUVs.

Since the SUVs are one of the most popular segments in India and with Mahindra’s expertise in the SUV segment, both the brand will be working exclusively on the SUVs for the Indian market. Both the brands will sell the newly developed SUVs in India and international markets after rebadging the product. However, there are a few constraints. There will be six models that will be shared between both the brands as rebadged products. However, Ford will exclusively get three SUVs that will be sold in India and many international markets too. The work on the all-new vehicles will start in 2020 with an investment of over Rs 4,300 crore. Both the companies will work together for the next 6 to 8 years and more money can be invested, if needed.

The exact products that will be developed by the brand are not known. However, Mahindra and Ford are working on the all-new SUV that is likely to replace the current-generation XUV500 in India. It will be one of the SUVs that will be sold as rebadged products by both the brands. The all-new SUV will be a joint effort by both the manufacturers. Mahindra will develop the architecture and the engine for the all-new SUV while Mahindra is expected to develop the telematics system for the upcoming product.

The new report also says that Mahindra is likely to use the production facilities of Ford in India. Ford has two plants in India – Sriperumbudur and Sanand and both the facilities export and feeds the Indian market too. Both the plants have a combined capacity of 4.4 lakh units per year and currently, only 2.7 lakh units are being produced at the moment.

The all-new SUVs will be launched over the next few years. However, the exact timeframe of the launches is not known yet. Ford will widely export the products from Mahindra to numerous emerging markets around the world, which will help the brand to grow as a whole.

Ford and Mahindra’s partnership will benefit both the manufacturers in the Indian market, as well as the international markets. Currently, Ford holds 3% of the market share in India, which is much lower than the other major manufacturers in India. The first model by the collaboration is expected to be launched by the end of 2020 or early 2021.