NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ford Motor Co. (F) - Get Report is planning to triple its exports from India with a $1 billion plant geared toward offsetting slower sales inside the country and an initiative to sell more local production internationally, Reuters reports.

Shares of Ford Motor are lower by 0.99% to $16.02 in mid-morning trading on Thursday.

The factory, which opened on Thursday will be one of the most heavily automated in Asia, will almost double Ford's production capacity in India to 610,000 engines and 440,000 vehicles each year, Reuters added.

The factory will produce engines and compact cars such as the EcoSport, a small SUV, and the Figo Aspire sedan.

"India is very cost competitive, which is important particularly for small vehicles," Ford CEO Mark Fields told reporters in Sanand at the factory opening.

Small cars are a key part of Ford's efforts to compete in Asia and particularly India, Reuters said, adding that a growing urban population in India means compact models account for almost one in every two passenger cars and utility vehicles sold.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates FORD MOTOR CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate FORD MOTOR CO (F) a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its good cash flow from operations and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 588.25% to $2,168.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, FORD MOTOR CO has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -24.41%.
• Regardless of the drop in revenue, the company managed to outperform against the industry average of 10.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 4.5%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• FORD MOTOR CO has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past two years. However, we anticipate this trend to reverse over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, FORD MOTOR CO reported lower earnings of $0.78 versus $1.75 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.58 versus $0.78).
• Compared to where it was 12 months ago, the stock is up, but it has so far lagged the appreciation in the S&P 500. The stock's price rise over the last year has driven it to a level which is somewhat expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
• The gross profit margin for FORD MOTOR CO is rather low; currently it is at 16.65%. Regardless of F's low profit margin, it has managed to increase from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 0.14% trails the industry average.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: F Ratings Report