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DaimlerChrysler to invest in a
second factory in India
11 May, 2007
The world’s second largest carmaker is
truly betting on India. By lining up
an investment of Rs 274 crore, Daimler
Chrysler is reportedly building its
second factory at Chakan in
Maharashtra.
Banking on the idea that high-spending
customers will continue to spend more
on cars, the car maker hopes to begin
production at the plant in 2009. Its
existing plant at Pune, set up way
back in 1994, currently rolls out more
than 2,000 of its C, E and S-Class
Mercedes cars every year. The company
had sold more than 2,000 vehicles last
year, with sales jumping by 17 per
cent Q1 of 2007. The land for the
existing factory is owned by Tata
Motors Ltd, India’s biggest truck and
bus maker. India’s car sales may
triple to 3 million units by 2016,
according to the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers.
The upcoming plant will provide jobs
to 350 people initially and would have
a capacity to produce 5,000 vehicles a
year. The company believes that there
is a lot of potential because India is
improving dramatically in all aspects.
Daimler in fact is expecting a
double-digit growth from the luxury
car market in India, said a report.
After construction of the factory, the
company will shift all its existing
operations to the new location.
Accrding to another report, the new
Daimler Chrysler factory in Chakan in
Pune will be located on a plot of 100
acres, triple the area of the existing
unit. One-third of the land will be
used for the new facility and the
remainder will be kept for expansion.
Meanwhile, the company is also mulling
over making trucks, including the
famed Mercedes-Benz Actros, at the new
plant in a year. Daimer had last year
sold 50 imported Actros trucks in the
country.
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