Ford Chief Executive Officer: Expect to Triple Exports from India

   By Santanu Choudhury 
 

SANAND, India --Ford Motor Co. expects to triple exports from India, its chief executive said Thursday, as the U.S. auto maker started a $1 billion manufacturing facility in the country.

"We are happy to be making in India, for India and for the world," Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said in a speech during the start of a new plant in Sanand in the western state of Gujarat. "We expect to triple our exports from India," he added, without elaborating by when the company hopes to do so.

Mr. Fields also said that the company would launch the Aspire compact sedan in India later in 2015. Aspire would be the first of four vehicles that the company plans to launch in the country over the next year and a half, he added.

Compact sedans have been growing in popularity in India, attracting auto manufacturers to launch models to gain market share. Market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. sells the Swift Dzire compact sedan while Honda Motor Co. also sells its Amaze model. Other manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Tata Motors Ltd. have also launched their Xcent and Zest models to compete in the fast-expanding segment.

Write to Santanu Choudhury at [e-mail]

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