Ford Motor Company India will invest $72 million in expanding its diesel engine production capacity by over 30% in India within next one year, the carmaker said in a statement.

Ford Motor Company will invest $72 million to expand its powertrain facility in Chennai to further support its sales and export growth plans in India, the company said.

After the completion the engine plant's production capacity will increase from 250,000 to 330,000 units per year, an additional output of 80,000 diesel engines annually.

Commenting on the development, Ford India President and MD Michael Boneham said: This investment reinforces the importance of our Chennai plant and Ford's continued expansion in India.

This expansion will allow the company to provide more technologically advanced and fuel-efficient engines to the customers in India and in markets around the world where the company exports Chennai-built vehicles, he added.

When the expansion is finished, a third production shift will be added at the engine assembly plant, creating more than 300 new direct jobs, Boneham said.

This planned expansion will support the company's plan to introduce eight new global Ford vehicles in India by 2015, he added.

The new investment is part of Ford India's transformation into a major global export and manufacturing hub - 1.6 TiVCT, 1.4 HC and Duratorq engines will be exported from the country.

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