Michael Boneham shall be taking over Ford India’s operation as Managing Director of the company. The formal announcement for Boneham’s appointment as MD of Indian operations was announced at the media conference in Chennai.
Michael Boneham (spelled ~ Bonam) shall replace the current MD, Arvind Matthew. Mathew shall be heading the global product development team in Michigan from now on. The new MD shall take on his new responsibilities from June 1, 2008. He shall be the fifth Managing Director of the company in past 14 years since Ford started its operations in India.
Boneham had been the Executive Director of the company since August 2007. Till now he had been responsible for the product engineering, purchasing, manufacturing and quality controls for the company.
Ford has plans for expansion in India. It has already announced its investments for increasing the production capacity in India. Complete investments shall be in force by the year 2010. All the investments have been funded by the parent company in Michigan unlike Hyundai and Maruti that fund their investments through their domestic operations in the country.
It also plans to increase its product portfolio in India as well establish a new engine manufacturing plant in Chennai. Currently Ford India shares only 2% of share in the Indian auto market although it is one of the major players in the global auto arena.
