Good pitch: The Ford assembled its cars at 200 Mount Road, to the left of what is now Gove Building.
Last week’s story of American automobiles in Madras left me with a feeling that something had remained unsaid. But try as I might, I could not put my finger on it. And is often the case, it was only after the article went online that I remembered — I had not mentioned a word about Ford Motor Company and its first foray in Madras. And that was not in 1995, as many have it, but in 1931. By 1926, General Motors and Ford were clocking impressive sales in India. And both American car makers decided to start operations in India. These were strictly assembly activities, the vehicles being brought in completely knocked down (CKD). While Ford was first off the mark by registering a company in 1926, it was GM that began operations first, in 1928, at Sewri, (then off) Bombay. Its Chevrolet National series began rolling out soon after from there. For reasons unknown, Ford dawdled and it was only in 1930 that assembly began, at Madras.
This was the first of what were to be three plants, the other two coming up in Calcutta and Bombay a year later. Ford News, the in-house magazine of the parent company, noted in its issue of 1930 that Ford Motor Company of India Limited was associated with Ford Canada and the Madras operations were meant to supply cars and trucks to the company dealers in southern India. The launch was with much fanfare, a procession passing “through the main streets of the city, showing types of passenger cars, commercial cars, trucks, and tractors”. In classic ‘Americanese’, the note concluded, “large display boards mounted on chassis helped to make the event a complete success from an advertising point of view.”
Where was the assembly operation? And that threw up a surprise. The cars were put together at 200 Mount Road. And that set me off on a chase. I finally traced this to the property to the left of what is now Gove Building (and the Mercedes Benz showroom). Then known as Cuddon’s Building, it was the showroom of Simpson & Co. Cuddon’s was 201 Mount Road, and 200, also owned by Simpsons, was rented to Gordon Woodroffe, one of the top five British companies of Madras once. This company had its headquarters (now demolished) on First Line Beach/Rajaji Salai and its automobile sales office was at 200 Mount Road. This was the space that Ford shared, and it is very likely that Gordon Woodroffe was then a Ford dealer. Oakes & Co, another hallowed name, and which as George Oakes now in the Amalgamations fold, was another. Their offices were and still are on Smiths Road, kitty corner from Gove Building. Over time, Oakes and later George Oakes became the principal dealer for Ford. Independence and the Industrial Policy Resolution that all manufacture would have to be indigenised saw Ford closing its Indian operations in 1950. It was George Oakes that assembled the final set of 300 trucks and sold them. GM too closed around the same time. It would take Indian liberalisation to get Ford to return in 1995 with a new plant at Maraimalai Nagar. It marked a milestone in Chennai’s automobile history.
That plant is now closed. But Ford’s backend operations continue here.
(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
Published – February 18, 2025 09:50 pm IST