Ford EcoSport’s Final Unit Rolls Off The Production Line In India
After Ford’s decision to stop manufacturing in India, the sub-4m SUV was being produced solely for export
Ford has terminated production in India entirely, with the last unit of the EcoSport recently rolling out from its factory in Chennai. This comes almost a year after Ford decided to stop manufacturing vehicles at its Indian plants. The carmaker had also mentioned that its sub-4m SUV will continue to remain in production till mid-2022 for export purposes.
The EcoSport, launched in India in 2014, was the first model to attract buyers to the sub-4m SUV space. In its life cycle, the EcoSport was offered with both petrol and diesel powertrains. It was one of the few SUVs in its space to get a proper torque converter automatic transmission option, and also among the first to offer a turbo-petrol engine in the mass market.
Prior to its shocking announcement, Ford was working on another mid-life update for the SUV. However, with the derailment of production at its Indian plants, the facelifted EcoSport was shelved. The EcoSport was the longest running nameplate for a sub-4m SUV in India at the time of its market exit.
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During the production-withdrawal update, Ford had revealed that it will be bringing its global products like the Mustang sports coupe and Mustang Mach-E to India. However, there’s no official word on the launch timeline of these models.
The Blue Oval was considering resurrecting manufacturing in India, albeit only for electric vehicles for exports, but even that plan was dropped in May 2022. Ford had reverted by saying it was “exploring other alternatives for its manufacturing facilities.” Today, a different carmaker is close to acquiring Ford’s manufacturing plants in India.