Bengaluru:Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) Ltd, an Indian automaker, has signed a deal to possibly buy a Ford Motor (NYSE: F) factory in the western state of Gujarat. This is part of its plan to make more electric cars.
India’s electric car market is just getting started, but the owner of Jaguar Land Rover already controls most of it. The government is trying to grow the market by giving companies billions of dollars in incentives.
The land, assets, and all eligible employees who work at the Sanand facility are included in the agreement that was made public on Monday. No information was given about how much the deal would cost.
Tata said that it would invest in new machines and equipment at the plant through its electric mobility unit. Once the work is done, the plant is expected to be able to make 300,000 units per year. The number of units can be raised to more than 400,000.
“Tata Motors’ passenger and electric vehicles have become more popular with customers, which has led to a multi-fold growth,” said Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. “This possible deal will help us expand our capacity.”
Tata got $1 billion from private equity firm TPG last year for its electric vehicle business, which competes with Mahindra and Mahindra.
The interest in the Sanand plant comes after the U.S. automaker Ford decided to stop making cars in India last year. Ford had less than 2% of the passenger vehicle market in India and had been struggling to make a profit there for more than 20 years.
Ford said earlier this month that it was looking for options for its two factories in India, and that it was giving up on plans to make electric cars there to sell abroad.