Chennai, March 1: Ford India on Wednesday fired the first salvo against finance minister P Chidambaram’s decision to reduce the excise duty on small cars to 16% in the Budget. The company, in a statement issued here, said that the decision could hamper the growth of the automobile industry. The decision could also curb the foreign investment into the country, the statement said.
According to Arvind Mathew, managing director and president of Ford India, the policy decision of the government would be detrimental to building a globally competitive India in the long run. “At first glance this looks like a win for the Indian customers and the auto industry, but when you analyse the bigger issues, the duty reduction on small cars could ultimately weaken India’s position. It does not send a positive signal to global auto manufacturers, like Ford who have invested in India and created jobs”, he said in a statement.
“We look forward to a level-playing field as soon as possible before this measure has a serious distortionary impact on the Indian auto market”, he said adding global manufacturers need the same incentives if they are to participate more actively in growing the automotive industry in India.
