We are very pleased to share the announcement about Ford Motor Company investing US $72 million to expand its powertrain facility in Chennai to further support sales and export growth plans in India. When the expansion programme is completed in mid-2012, the engine plant’s production capacity will increase from 250,000 to 330,000 units per year, an additional output of 80,000 diesel engines annually. The expansion will bring Ford’s total investment in India to more than US$ 1 billion.

This expansion, as president and managing director of Ford India Michael Boneham puts it, will allow us to provide more technologically advanced and fuel-efficient engines to our customers in India and in markets around the world where we export Chennai-built vehicles. The new investment also further supports our plan to introduce eight new global Ford vehicles in India by 2015. When the expansion is finished, a third production shift will be added at the engine assembly plant, creating more than 300 new direct jobs.

You can check out the media release here.