The Mahindra Group and Ford today strengthened their ongoing strategic alliance in India with the signing of two definitive agreements on powertrain sharing and connected car solutions. They aim to reinforce the progress made in the strategic alliance between the two companies, first announced in September 2017 and followed up with five Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in March 2018.
Under the powertrain sharing pact, the Mahindra Group will develop and supply a low-displacement petrol engine to Ford India for use in its present and future vehicles, starting in 2020. The BS VI- compliant powertrain will help Ford extend and strengthen its existing offering of petrol engines that currently includes the all-new 3-cylinder TiVCT family.
Also, building on their intent to co-develop a suite of connected car solutions, Mahindra and Ford have announced joint development of a telematics control unit. Once developed, the connected vehicle solution will be deployed across both Mahindra and Ford vehicles.
According to Dr Pawan Goenka, ,managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Today’s announcement further builds on commitments made so far, leading to a fruition of exciting new opportunities. We are confident to meet customer expectations by working together on a number of joint development areas. Going forward we will continue to identify the synergies that exist between the two companies.”
“We are pleased with the progress our teams have made since we announced our strategic alliance with Mahindra Group a year ago,” said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice-president and president of Global Markets. “Today we go further in delivering even greater value. With our collaboration in powertrain and connected car solutions, we will deliver an affordable portfolio and enable our Indian consumers to get behind the wheel, feeling more confident and connected.”
Both companies continue to make progress on the remaining MoUs signed earlier this year. This includes leveraging their respective strengths on product development for India and emerging markets, including co-development of compact SUVs and electric vehicles.
Aiming to generate synergies and improve efficiencies, the strategic alliance between the two companies focuses on leveraging the benefits of Ford’s global reach and expertise and Mahindra’s scale in India and its successful operating model.