US auto major Ford Motors Company last week opened its integrated manufacturing facility at Sanand, which is already a home to Tata Motors Ltd's Nano project. With the commissioning of this plant, Ford India will have a total installed capacity of rolling out 440,000 vehicles and 610,000 engines every year. Ford is the second US auto giant to have set up its manufacturing facility in Gujarat. General Motors already has plant at Halol near Vadodara.
Ford will manufacture its new concept sedan `Figo Aspire' at the Sanand facility. Around 19 suppliers have already set up their shops at the vendor park in Sanand. Japanese auto giant Suzuki Motor Corporation plans to invest Rs 85 billion over the next few years to set up three plants at Hansalpur with a total annual capacity of 7,50,000 vehicles. The construction of the first plant is already underway.
The 125 km-long belt - Sanand, Vithalapur, Hansalpur in Ahmedabad district, Manadal and Bahucharaji in Mehsana district - is emerging as an ideal location for the automobile sector.
Gujarat, which had plants of companies such as General Motors, Atul Auto and AMW, has in recent years seen auto makers such as Tata Motors Limited, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Ford, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) Pvt Ltd, Honda Cars India and Hero Moto Corp setting up their projects.
With the launch of Ford's new plant, the installed capacity in state has increased to 6,98,000 units per annum. With slew of mega projects either planned or under construction, the capacity is likely to go up to 46,33,000 units per annum.
