Ford and Mahindra & Mahindra had called off their proposed joint venture earlier this year. Now, reports are suggesting that they have even decided to lay off the engine & platform sharing agreements too. However, formal communication regarding this is yet to take place between both brands.
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For the people not in know, Ford India was supposed to use the Mahindra-sourced engines & platforms in its upcoming products. With this drop-off, the American carmaker would rely on its own mechanicals. As a result, Ford has reportedly asked its vendors to halt work of its upcoming projects like the BX744 (sub-4m SUV) and BX772 (Creta rivaling compact SUV) till August 2021 as the brand must finalise the new powertrains.
Despite the JV termination, the two companies were agreed to participate in the XUV500-based C-SUV (codenamed W605) project under Project Black. But now this project also seems to be in crisis and Ford may handle this plan of its own. This Ford C-SUV was scheduled to launch next year and make use of Mahindra’s platform along with 2.0-liter petrol and 2.2 diesel engines. Even the upcoming EcoSport was planned to utilise the Mahindra's 1.2-litre TGDi turbocharged petrol engine in a replacement for the EcoSport's 1.0-litre Ecoboost turbocharged petrol motor that was discontinued last year. But now Ford could continue to use its existing Dragon series engines.
While Mahindra is expected to launch the new XUV500 by June 2021, the Ford C-SUV could be delayed by a further six months due to these changes.
