MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford Motor Company have forged a joint venture with the former as the majority owner.
M&M will buy 51 per cent in Ardour Automotive Pvt Ltd presently a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company (FMC) in India.
After its stressed operations for about two decades, Ford has decided to function as a joint venture partner with M&M where M&M will own 51 per cent and the remaining 49 per cent by Ford.
M&M said it would shortly make a public announcement, outlining details on valuation, retail plans etc. The deal is part of Ford’s efforts to restructure its global business to pare down losses in weak markets outside of America.
Ford India will transfer most of its assets to M&M as part of the JV, with M&M also acquiring rights to sell Ford cars at its dealerships, according to reports.
M&M will possibly look to achieve an international scale through this partnership, additional capacity through Ford’s manufacturing plants in India and economies of scale in electric vehicles (EV) production.
Ford and M&M have been long-time strategic allies, with the two companies collaborating on developing EV technology and new platforms recently.
