Gujarat Auto Industries Thread

[IndiansUnite]

Some interesting pictures from Peugot's groundbreaking ceremony on this past Thursday:

Copyright Getty Images



Left-Right: Frederic Fabre, Managing Director of PCA Motors, Jean-Raphael Peytregnet the Consul General of France, Vincent Rambaud Director General of Peugeot and Gregoire Olivier Member of the Managing Board PSA Peugeot Citroen and CEO of Asian Operations

[nishanth.kh9]

wow...so nice to see whites in our tradition

[Aditya Jadeja]

After French Auto maker Peugeot set its base at Gujarat now its turn for another french auto maker and thats Renault...!!

Its scouting for 400 acres of land for its next car plant in Gujarat...!!

http://www.carzy.co.in/blog/car-news...ty-plant.html/

[GJ10]

Apparently Kia motors in discussion to come to Sanand too?

Auto-Hub, Gujarat eyes drivers seat in 4 yrs

Narendra Modi has a big reason to thank his West Bengal counterpart, Mamata Banerjee. Her staunch opposition to the Tata Nano gave the Gujarat chief minister a foothold in the country’s automobile map. To his credit, Modi not only grabbed the opportunity with both hands, but also ensured he got to be in the driver’s seat as far as attracting automobile investment was concerned.

Consider this: by 2015-16, nearly one of every three cars that roll out in the country could be from Gujarat. If that’s not enough, in the next three-five years, half the installed capacity for making cars in India will be located in the state.

Just two years ago, the Sanand-Mehsana hub where most of the new car projects are being set up was nowhere on the country’s auto map, then dominated by the big boys in the Pune-Chakan-Aurangabad belt of Maharashtra, the Chennai hinterland of Tamil Nadu and the Gurgaon-Manesar belt in Haryana.



With car makers from Maruti Suzuki, Peugeot PSA, Ford India and Kia Motors, apart from the Tatas and General Motors, making a beeline, the Gujarat government has cleared or is in advanced stages of negotiations for additional capacity to make nearly three million cars per annum, starting 2014.

Emphasising the trend, Abdul Majeed, PricewaterhouseCoopers partner who leads auto practice in India, says, “Over the next three-five years, we estimate Gujarat will have an installed capacity of over three million per annum, nearly half of the total capacity in the country by then.”

To look at it from another perspective, the car industry had projected total car sales would be 4.5-5 million by financial year 2015-16. Assuming that slightly more than half the capacity planned in Gujarat will be available by then, a third of the cars sold in the country should roll out of Gujarat, according to industry experts.

The total investment of these new projects is estimated at more than Rs 26,000 crore, not including the ones where talks are still on.

Those shifting to Gujarat have good reasons. Maruti Suzuki, for example, is the largest investor in the auto sector in Gujarat and has signed a pact with the state government to set up a two million per annum capacity plant in Mehsana district. The investment tag is Rs 18,000 crore.

The company has all its capacity currently in Haryana, where it is facing serious problems with workers forcing it to close the Manesar factory thrice this year. So, it has obviously resolved not to put all its eggs in one basket.

“I think all major projects on expansion and new projects are now coming to Gujarat. I have not heard of any going to other locations. The capacity being built up there will be equivalent to what is currently available across the country for cars,” points out R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL).

There are three reasons for the Japanese giant's faith in Gujarat. One, proximity to Mundra port reduces its freight costs as most ships that handle cars now come to Mundra instead of Mumbai or Nava Sheva. Secondly, Bhargava says there is a perception the government is more pro-active in clearing projects. Thirdly, land acquisition is not troublesome. About half of the 1,400 acres earmarked for Maruti is land already acquired by the government. “For the rest, the government is open about supporting us to negotiate the commercial terms with farmers. In other states, they don’t want to be seen,” adds Bhargava.

Ford India, currenty located in Chennai with a capacity of 200,000 per annum, has preferred to go to Gujarat and build a much larger plant there, instead of sticking to the south. The company will also build an engine plant in the state with a capacity of 270,000 per annum.

Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India, says, "The new facility at Gujarat will complement our world-class operations and facilities in Tamil Nadu wonderfully. Ford selected Gujarat because of its pro-business environment, infrastructure, access to ports and skilled workforce. Our second plant in Sanand will give us access to the north-western region, which is by and large the biggest market for passenger cars in the country. Gujarat will also help us get access and balance in India from a logistics aspect.”

But, the newfound aura around Gujarat could lead to its own problems, the biggest being in getting skilled labour attuned to the auto industry. Says a director of a well known international car company which has been scouting opportunities in India, “Gujarat’s development has been based on oil and petrochemicals, so there is bound to be a shortage of skilled auto labour and that could be a challenge.” He also points out the state has doled out huge land tracts for projects, which is not required, and many of the large production numbers promised may not even come though. “Car companies are taking 1,000 acres of land to build half a million cars. In Japan, they do more numbers in less than 100 acres. So, is it just a land play or will the project actually come?" he asks.

The production numbers of Nano have not lived up to expectations. It sold a little more than 140,000 in the 18 months from July 2009, though the projection was of more than 240,000 cars annually.

[MeMumbaikar]

fantastic

[GJ10]

Dedicated Freight Corridor yard at Ghuma

Ghuma will be the destination for loading and unloading goods from Ahmedabad city and industries in Sanand. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has zeroed in on Bhora-Ghuma station, a small station between Amli-Sanand for setting up yard for suburban services and access for dedicated freight corridor (DFC).

DFCCIL has set up a special purpose vehicle under the administrative control of ministry of railways to undertake planning and development. DFCCIL officials who carried out the survey in Ghuma found it to be suitable for setting up a yard.

Officials said that for loading the goods from Sanand and nearby Ahmedabad city, one will have to load the same from Ghuma station. "DFCCIL has decided to bypass Ahmedabad city. It will not enter the city and will not connect the main goods yard situated in Maninagar," said a DFCCIL official.

DFCCIL's survey found that the Ghuma station was a non operational one with two up and down lines connecting Rajkot and Saurashtra.

Once completed, the dedicated freight corridors will enable the railways to meet market needs more effectively. Officials said the Mumbai-Delhi Corridor will pass through the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The Western Corridor will traverse the distance from Dadri to Mumbai, passing through the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Officials said that earlier there were plans to have the yard in Viramgam, but they found Ghuma to be close to Sanand which is well on its way to becoming an automobile hub of the state. The yard will be approximately 10-15 km from Sanand and equal distance from Ahmedabad as well.

DFCCIL officials said that there is a possibility that the track might be diverted on the outskirts of the city from Mehmadabad. "The decision to bypass Ahmedabad was taken because there would not be availability of land for the dedicated track.

Pawan Kumar, the DFCCIL officer in Ahmedabad, said that the DFCCIL has zeroed in on Bhora-Ghuma station and the survey has been completed for the yard at Ghuma.

Had been suggestions for a while that DFC would pass through this area, good to get some confirmation though. Along with the dry port at Sanand, will be all the required supporting infra needed for industries in the region.

Now, after getting the big names, hopefully will be a case of waiting and watching the ancillary companies make the obvious move to Sanand

Auto parts maker Valeo plans unit at Sanand

Auto component maker Valeo is scouting for opportunities in Sanand, Gujarat to set up a manufacturing plant.

With big names such as Ford, Tata Motors and Peugeot driving into the region, Sanand is rapidly transforming into an auto hub.

Valeo expects to start construction at Sanand soon and have a plant running by 2013. This is part of the company's efforts to ramp up local manufacturing.

The company currently manufactures clutches, friction materials and lighting systems at its plants in Chennai, while its Pune plant makes security systems, starters and alternators.

By 2013, Valeo is looking to locally manufacture wiper systems, top column module, compressors and air management systems, said Mr P.R. Dhaamodharan, Group President and Managing Director, Valeo India.

“Of the 16 product groups globally, only four are manufactured locally at present. Valeo India will localise most products in the coming years.”

[vikaskumar11233]

Hi all
I am here with a hot news that Tata motors had postponed its upcoming Tata Nano 2012 diesel which was earlier in news that Tata will be launching it in 2012. One good news is also here that Tata will introduce its new Tata Pixel car in auto expo 2012.

[0Roller]

Ahmedabad: Oerlikon Graziano, the world’s largest manufacturer of precision gears and shafts, is likely to invest more than Rs 100 crore to set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat, a senior company official said.

Oerlikon Graziano supplies gears to Ferrari, Mercedes and BMW among other car manufacturers. Its products are also used in tractors and off-road vehicles such as road rollers and bumpers. The company has two gear manufacturing plants in the country — at Kolhapur and Greater Noida. It has now finalised Gujarat for setting up its third plant.

“We have finalised Gujarat for our third plant and are looking for a suitable location. We will be investing around Rs100 crore for the plant,” SK Sehgal, director, Oerlikon Graziano, said.

The company requires around 30-35 acre land. It has identified Sanand, where leading car manufacturers such as Ford and Peugeot are setting up their plants, for its gear manufacturing unit.

With a capacity to produce 3.50 lakh units a year, the plant will create around 1,800-2,000 jobs. It would also produce shafts and sync assemblies, among other parts. The turnover from the plant would be to the tune of Rs500 crore over the first three years.

“We are likely to complete formalities for land acquisition for the plant by March. The construction of the plant will take another two years,” added Sehgal.

Source : http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ...n-2696942.html

[GJ10]

Auto hub awaits Plastic Industry

A finished car would require about 150 kgs of plastic! And the state government seems to have special attention to this little detail in a big way.

A fact made clear by the government announcing its plans of disbursing 240 acres of land at the state’s auto hub Sanand to the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) at an event held in the run-up to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit, to be held between January 8 and 13, 2013, on Tuesday.

According to sources, the move might attract investment close to Rs 5,000 crore by the plastic industry to develop the AIPMA auto park. AIPMA, which is the apex and non-profit body of the plastic industry in India, has nearly 2,500 listed members.

While the plastic park at the Dahej Special Investment Region, spread over 200 acres, saw some of the top 100 plastic companies in the country vying for space last year with a total investment of nearly Rs 3000 crore, the new announcement by Maheshwar Sahu, Principal Secretary (Industries and Mines), is likely to help auto manufacturers who would find a supplier base nearby to fuel their manufacturing needs.

AIPMA president Jayesh K Rambhia said, “We are expecting investment of over Rs 5,000 crore at the upcoming plastic hub. The key to building a good auto hub is a plastic suppliers base, as it is an important component of car manufacturing. At the Dahej SIR, close to 50 companies are in the process of setting up base. Whereas 62 members have already come forward to set up their base at the Sanand AIPMA auto park and there is room for around 50 more companies.”

Gujarat, which contributes 65-70 % of the country’s total plastic production, is home to many packaging companies in the small and medium segment.

French Auto-parts makers may enter Sanand in next 1-2 years

Sixty French automobile component suppliers on Monday explored setting up auto-components vendor park near Sanand in Ahmedabad district, where a number of global auto-makers, like Ford and Peugeot, are establishing plants.

Facilitating the French businessmen's visit to Gujarat, Mr Bernard Babo, Chairperson, French Vehicles Equipment Industries (FIEV), India Committee, indicated that plants in the vendor park could be set up in one to two years.

The proposed vendor park would consist of tier-1 and -2 auto-component suppliers to the recent auto entrants in the State and even to others, an official spokesman said here.

An event was organised by the Gujarat Government's Industrial Extension Bureau, along with Automotive Components Manufacturers Association, FIEV and French auto-major Peugeot, as part of the State's efforts to boost the automobile and auto-components sector.

Addressing French businessmen at the event, Mr Maheshwar Sahu, Principal Secretary, Industries and Mines Department, said apart from developing Sanand as an auto cluster, the State Government is also strengthening traditional auto clusters like Rajkot and Halol by setting up skilled operations centres throughout Gujarat.

The State Government has planned about 300 skilled operations centre for the sector, of which 86 have already begun operations.

Kajima gets order to build Ford auto plant in Sanand

TOKYO (Kyodo): Major constructor Kajima Corp. said Thursday its Indian subsidiary has landed an order from an Indian subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. to build an auto factory in the western Indian city of Sanand in Gujarat Province.

The factory on a 1.86 million square-meter site will be completed by 2014, with total investment, including production facilities, of around 77 billion yen.

Its production capacity for the first year will come to around 240,000 units.

Kajima did not disclose the value of the order.

Kajima secured authorization to establish its Indian arm last June with an eye to securing the Ford order.

The Indian arm will intensify efforts to land more orders from various companies, especially Japanese, European and U.S. companies that set up business bases in India.

[Kaushal]

સાણંદમાં હવે લાગશે ઓટો વેન્ડર

http://www.sandesh.com/article.aspx?newsid=27810

કાઇનેટિક એન્જીનીયરિંગ પણ બહુ ઝડપથી ગુજરાત તરફ વળી શકે છે. કંપની ગુજરાતના ઓટો હબ ગણાવતા ટાઉન સાણંદમાં એસેમ્બલી પ્લાન્ટ લગાવવાની યોજના બનાવી રહી છે. આ પ્લાન્ટથી કંપની ટાટા નેનો માટે કંપોનેન્ટ સપ્લાઇ કરશે. કંપનીનું કહેવું છે કે સાણંદમાં પ્લાન્ટ લગાવવા માટે ટાટા મોટર્સ સાથે વાત કરી રહી છે. હાલ કંપની પોતાના એહમદનગર પ્લાન્ટથી નેનો માટે ગિયર સપ્લાઇ કરે છે.

માત્ર કાઇનેટિક જ નહીં બીજા અનેક વેન્ડર પણ સાણંદની આસપાસ જ પોતાના પ્લાન્ટ લગાવવા ઇચ્છે છે અને આ જ કારણ છે કે નેનો, ફોર્ડ અને પ્યૂજો પ્લાન્ટની આસપાસ અનેક વેન્ડર્સ પાર્ક બનવા જઇ રહ્યા છે. ફ્રાંસના ઓટો ઉત્પાદક ભારતીય ઉત્પાદકોની સાથે મળીને આ વેન્ડર્સ પાર્ક બનાવશે. ઓટો કમ્પોનેન્ટ મેન્યુફેક્ચર્સ માટે સાણંદ સિવાય હાલોલ અને મહેસાણા બીજી પસંદગી હોઇ શકે છે.

યુરોપ અને અમેરિકાની મંદીથી પ્રભાવિત ફોર્ડ અને પ્યૂજો જેવી કંપનીઓ ભારતમાં મોટું માર્કેટ ભવિષ્ય જોઇ રહી છે. ફ્રાંસની પ્યૂજોએ તો ગુજરાતના સાણંદમાં પોતાના પ્લાન્ટનું કામ શરૂ પણ કરી દીધું છે અને ફ્રાંસના ઓટો પાર્ટ મેન્યુફ્રેક્ચર પ્યૂજોના પગલે ચાલી રહી છે. આ કંપનીઓ ભારતીય ઓટો એન્સીલરી કંપનીઓની સાથે મળીને કામ કરવા ઇચ્છે છે અને ગુજરાત સાણંદની પહેલી પસંદ છે.

ગુજરાતમાં ટાટા, ફોર્ડ, પ્યૂજો અને મારૂતિ જેવી કંપનીઓના પ્લાન્ટ લગાવવાનું મોટું કારણ આસાનીથી મળતી જમીન અને રાજ્ય સરકારની ઇન્ડસ્ટ્રી ફ્રેન્ડલી પોલિસી છે. ગુજરાત સરકાર ઇચ્છે છે કે તમામ કાર મેન્યુફેક્ચરીંગ કંપનીઓને સસ્તા ભાવ પર સારા પાર્ટ્સ મળે છે અને તેના માટે જરૂરી છે કે ઓટો એન્સિલરી ઉદ્યોગને પ્રોત્સાહન આપવામાં આવશે. ફ્રાંસથી આવેલા લગભગ 60 ઓટો પાર્ટ ઉત્પાદકોએ ગુજરાત અને ઇન્ડિયાના ઉત્પાદકોની સાથે મળીને વેન્ડર્સ પાર્ક બનાવવામાં રસ દાખવ્યો હતો. જો કે ટિયર 3ના ઉત્પાદકોને ગુજરાત સરકાર જીઆઇડીસીમાં જગ્યા આપશે.

[Kaushal]

કોલગેટનો નફો 75 ટકા ઊછળ્યોઃ ગુજરાતમાં નવો પ્લાન્ટ સ્થાપશે
http://gujarati.economictimes.indiat...w/11612740.cms

ટૂથપેસ્ટ કેટેગરીના વોલ્યુમમાં પ્રોત્સાહક વૃદ્ધિને પગલે કોલગેટ-પામોલિવે ડિસેમ્બરમાં પૂરા થયેલા ત્રિમાસિક ગાળામાં 74.48 ટકાની વૃદ્ધિ સાથે રૂ. 115.58 કરોડનો ચોખ્ખો નફો કર્યો છે.

અગાઉના વર્ષના સમાન ગાળામાં કંપનીએ રૂ. 66.24 કરોડનો ચોખ્ખો નફો કર્યો હતો. કંપનીએ રોકાણકારો માટે શેર દીઠ રૂ. 9 નું વચગાળાનું ડિવિડન્ડ જાહેર કર્યું છે. આ સાથે ડિસેમ્બર 2011 માં પૂરા થયેલા નવ મહિનામાં કંપનીએ શેર દીઠ કુલ રૂ. 9 ના ડિવિડન્ડની ચુકવણી કરી છે. ત્રીજા ત્રિમાસિક ગાળામાં કંપનીનું ચોખ્ખું વેચાણ 19.95 ટકા વધીને રૂ. 669.57 કરોડ થયું છે, જે અગાઉના વર્ષના સમાન ગાળામાં રૂ. 558.20 કરોડ હતું.

કંપની ગુજરાતમાં સાણંદ ખાતે રૂ. 200 કરોડના ખર્ચે ઉત્પાદન સુવિધા સ્થાપી રહી છે. કંપનીના જણાવ્યા અનુસાર તેણે ત્રીજા ત્રિમાસિક ગાળામાં નવા પ્લાન્ટ માટે લીઝહોલ્ડ જમીનની ફાળવણી પેટે રૂ. 42.6 કરોડની ચુકવણી કરી છે.

[GJ10]

Welcome to the forum Kaushal, but lets keep this thread for Auto news only!

Peugeot reviewing India car plant plans

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, battling falling sales at home, said Tuesday it was reviewing its India car rollout schedule but would not shelve plans to enter the vast and fast growing market.

"The group is currently reviewing the timetable for its Indian project which could result in some adjustments to the plan," a PSA spokesman in Paris told AFP after Indian press reports that it was planning to drop the project.

PSA announced in September it would invest 650 million euros ($850 million) to construct a plant in the western state of Gujarat, where it aimed to produce its first car, the 508 mid-size sedan, in 2014.

Earlier, leading Indian financial daily the Economic Times said PSA's difficult financial situation, driven by falling domestic sales, had compelled Europe's second largest carmaker to put off its India plans.

The PSA spokesman said reports in India that the company was closing down its office in Mumbai were also incorrect.

"Following the accord with Gujarat state, Peugeot will move its offices from Mumbai, where they were set up first during the preliminary stages of the project, to Ahmedabad."

Sources close to the matter in Paris told AFP meanwhile that PSA was looking at the project again because of its strained financial position.

"The company is looking at its accounts to see how it can proceed," one of the sources said.

Peugeot had zeroed in on emerging automobile production hub Sanand in Gujarat to build its plant where it aimed to produce 170,000 vehicles a year. Peugeot was the third carmaker, after Tata Motors and Ford, to opt for Sanand.

For the French auto major, its India project is part of a larger plan to derive more than half of its sales outside Europe by 2015, up from 39 percent in 2010.

Late last year, PSA said it would cut 6,000 jobs in 2012 due to what it called a "challenging" environment in Europe where sales fell 6.1 percent in 2011, dragging down overall sales by 1.5 percent to 3.5 million vehicles.

After looking at a number of potential partners, the company decided to go it alone in India but the Economic Times said PSA might now be reconsidering this option.

PSA declined to comment on that possibility.

The company had said in early January it might start selling its cars in India before its plant is ready by importing its 508 sedan and RCZ sports car. It broke ground on the Gujarat plant in November.

Not ideal, but the fact they are relocating their office from Bombay to Ahmedabad can hopefully be taken as a positive sign. Realistically will depend a lot on Peugeots global fortunes.

[NitinPatel]

Maruti Suzuki yet to firm up land requirement for Gujarat plant

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki is yet to firm up the land requirement for its proposed new manufacturing plant in Gujarat.

"We do have plans to go to Gujarat and preliminary talks have been already held with the state government. But nothing has been decided on when and how much land will be acquired there," Managing Executive Officer (Engineering) of Maruti Suzuki I V Rao told reporters here today.

He said that the idea behind the Gujarat plant was to serve export markets through the Mundra port.

"The matter has not been placed before the board for approval yet," Rao said at the launch of new Swift Dzire sedan here.

Rao said the Gujarat idea was floated in May, 2011, when the industry was growing at a healthy rate of 18 per cent.

But with the slowdown in car sales subsequently, no progress had been made in this regard, he said.

With SIAM predicting annual growth of 10 per cent in the automobile segment next few years, the Gurgaon and Manesar plants would suffice to meet the demand.

Post completion of the third plant at Manesar, Maruti's annual production capacity would touch 1.75 million units.

He said that steps were also being taken to reduce the waiting period for diesel cars by increasing production.

[GJ10]

US Automakers in race for Indian market

SANAND, India — On a baking-hot plain in western India, Ford is preparing the ground for one of its biggest investments in Asia, a $1 billion car assembly and engine plant designed to more than double its manufacturing capacity here.

As U.S. automakers get back on their feet after the global financial crisis, companies such as Ford and General Motors are looking for growth and investment opportunities worldwide. Few destinations appear more attractive than India, and perhaps no other place in India is more appealing than an emerging auto hub in the western state of Gujarat.

“We don’t get many chances to make an investment of this magnitude,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. “It’s a bet on India’s future, and a bet on Ford’s future in the country and the region.”

With the West’s economies sluggish and car markets there saturated, and with China’s explosive growth beginning to taper off, India offers a mouth-watering alternative.

Passenger car sales grew 137 percent in the past six years, but there are still only about 13 cars per 1,000 people in this country of 1.2 billion, compared with 35 or 40 in China and more than 800 in the United States.

India is the world’s sixth-largest car market and is expected to take third place behind China and the United States by the end of the decade, the management consulting firm McKinsey and Co. predicts, with annual sales growth of 12 to 14 percent from 2014 to 2020. That would bring sales of cars and sport-utility vehicles to more than 6 million vehicles and penetration of cars per 1,000 people to the sort of levels currently seen in China.

Ford has been a little slow to the party, perhaps because it had neither the financial resources nor the products to target the Indian market aggressively.

‘Dramatic growth phase’

A decade of breakneck economic growth and a fast-expanding middle class are bringing India close to a “tipping point,” when incomes in towns and smaller cities across the country reach the threshold at which car sales typically explode.

That should happen by the middle of this decade, Ford’s Hinrichs said, and “that’s when we expect another dramatic growth phase.”

Environmentalists warn of the prospect of millions more cars on India’s roads, especially in cities with some of the worst air quality in Asia. Nor is it easy to imagine how those roads will cope, congested as they already are with motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, three-wheeler auto rickshaws, ox carts, trucks and vans.

But even if infrastructure investment fails to keep pace with demand and congestion worsens, car ownership in India, just like in China, is becoming an important status symbol for an aspiring middle class.

To take advantage, General Motors set up a car factory near the western city of Pune, close to Mumbai, in 2008 and is expanding its plant at Halol in Gujarat, just a few hours’ drive from the site of Ford’s new factory at Sanand. It, too, is launching products for local tastes, such as the seven-seater Chevrolet Enjoy, aimed at bigger Indian families, and the Chevrolet Sail, both designed in China with the company’s joint-venture partner there.

Although high interest rates flattened India’s car market here last year, the company is equally bullish about the medium term.

Three brands dominate the Indian market — Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and the homegrown Tata Motors account for roughly 70 percent of passenger car sales — but GM, like Ford, thinks it can significantly raise its market share from the roughly 4 percent it has now.

“We’ve made a very strong commitment to India,” said Lowell Paddock, the company’s India president and managing director. “There is so little growth in a lot of the developed world that markets like India, even though they may be growing less strongly than in the past, are still more attractive.”

‘The auto hub’ of India

Much of the new investment in India’s car industry is arriving on the shores of Gujarat, a state run by business-friendly but polarizing Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi was denied a visa to travel to the United States in 2005 over allegations that he turned a blind eye to or even actively encouraged riots in 2002 in which more than 1,100 people, almost all of them Muslims, died. But Ford said the incident had no bearing on its decision.

“We don’t make a political statement one way or the other, we’re making a business investment,” Hinrichs said. “These are multi-decade manufacturing facilities that last beyond any politician’s career or any individual’s career in business as well.”

Tata Motors is already in Gujarat, manufacturing the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, on a site bordering Ford’s. French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen announced last year that it would build a plant in Sanand, while Maruti Suzuki also plans to follow.

Gujarat is one of India’s richest and fastest-growing states, and Ford and GM talk enthusiastically about the investor-friendly conditions there, the stable policy environment, the lack of corruption and the tremendous infrastructure, including uninterrupted power supply, great roads and access to ports for export.

Indeed, Modi makes no bones about his desire to turn Gujarat into “the auto hub” of India with consistent, pro-business policies.

“As a state, we are competing with China in the manufacturing sector,” he said. “There is no red tape-ism, only the red carpet.”

GM India’s vice president for corporate affairs, P. Balendran, speaks glowingly of governance in Gujarat and says Modi gives foreign investors his personal attention. Riots occur all over India, Balendran said. “It is only a temporary aberration, and this being a temporary aberration, it does not impact any of the investors.”

[Meeeet]

Ford lays foundation for $1 billion car factory in Sanand...!!

Ahmedabad, 22 March 2012

Ford Motor Co. says it laid the cornerstone for a new billion dollar factory in Sanand, Gujarat.

The plant will have the capacity to manufacture 240,000 cars and 270,000 engines a year when it’s complete in 2014. The factory will produce cars for domestic consumers and for export.

Ford’s move to expand its India business comes amid slowing car sales in India.

So far during the fiscal year ending in March, car sales have crept up 0.3 percent, against the previous year’s 29.5 percent surge.

“With this new state-of-the-art facility for Sanand, we are committed to significantly increasing our manufacturing output and aggressively expanding our business in India,” said Michael Boneham, Ford India president and managing director.

The company said it has already attracted 19 component manufacturers to set up shop at Sanand.

http://DeshGujarat.Com/2012/03/22/fo...ory-in-sanand/

[Euromast]

Maruti to shift carmaking to Gujarat; Gurgaon factory to only make diesel engines

Basic carmaking facilities - stamping, paint and assembly - will give way to a 3-lakh diesel engines facility which would eventually set the stage for migrating auto assembly operations to the larger 500-acre Manesar plant, also in Haryana.

Gurgaon's loss will be Gujarat's gain as a new 2 million cars-a-year facility is coming up in Mehsana. "We should take a final decision on Gujarat in the next-six weeks when land allocation is expected to happen, " Bhargava said.

"We have no scope for expansion at Manesar, so any additional capacity will come up in Gujarat and eventually would turn out to be our hub for making cars in India," Bhargava said.

The company is buying two 600-acre chunks of land in Gujarat, where one would be reserved for making cars and the other would be allotted to vendors for components and other ancillary operations.

Link

[numb.soul]

Originally Posted by Euromast

Maruti to shift carmaking to Gujarat; Gurgaon factory to only make diesel engines


Link

does that means carmaking will stop in manesar also ??

because AFAIK , this was a very old plan , manesar plant to handle production and ggn plant to handle engines

[Euromast]

Not completely

[vikaskumar11233]

I am here with a hot and happening news that India's largest car manufacturer's Maruti Suzuki India is all geared up to bring out the much awaited MPV Ertiga on 12th April. The company is aiming at creating a niche category in the city vehicles that are easy to drive and park in the constricted parking zones. Maruti Ertiga would be targeting the large families and hatchback up-graders rather than the commercial customers. The new MPV is expected to take on the likes of the Toyota Innova which is a top-selling car of the MPV segment.

[Kaushal]

Peugeot mulls to roll out cars from General Motors's Halol plant

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/12710104.cms


With Peugeot Citroen pulling the plug on a roughly 4,500 crore project to make cars out of Sanand in Gujarat, the Narendra Modi-headed government is pulling out all stops to keep the French auto giant back in the state.

One option being pursued: get Peugeot Citroen's 7% equity partner globally, General Motors (GM), to keep its India plans alive and make Peugeot cars out of its factory in Halol, some 200 km off Sanand.

"The company has informed the state industries department that it is exploring a joint venture with GM, which operates its biggest India facility in Halol," said a senior state government official. A Peugeot Citroen official based in India confirmed the development: "We are in talks with GM for a tie-up." But a spokesperson for the automaker in France refused to make any comment on the matter.

A GM India senior executive said it is too early to talk about any alliance with Peugeut in India.

In end-February, GM and PSA Peugeot announced a global alliance in which the Detroit carmaker will buy a 7% stake in Europe's second largest auto company. This makes GM the second largest shareholder after the Peugeot family.

"The GM and PSA Peugeot Citroen alliance is an important partnership for GM that will have a positive effect on our company worldwide, particularly in Europe. We expect it to have long-term benefits globally, however it's too soon to say how it will impact India and the Asia Pacific region," said P Balendran, VP, GM India.

Industry analysts, however, don't see too much strategic sense in GM India making products for Peugeot as the two carmakers would end up competing head-on. For instance, one of the cars Peugeot had lined up for India is the hatchback M3, a volume puller that is in the same segment as GM's next-gen Chevrolet Aveo U-VA.

In February 2011, Peugeot had said it was re-entering India, after over a decade. However, a grim financial situation precipitated by falling sales in its home market has compelled Peugeot to review its India plans.

The French automaker had zeroed in on Sanand to produce 170,000 vehicles per annum. According to the proposed plan, the first car, a mid-size sedan, was to roll out in 2014.

"The group is currently evaluating the scheduling of the project, which may lead to some adjustments to the schedule as it currently stands," a PSA Peugeot spokesperson had told ET in end-January.

In November 2011, Peugeot had laid foundation stone at Sanand in the vicinity of Ford India's upcoming facility. However, it could not stick to the payment schedule, and has not been able to pay the state government the installments for the 600-acre plot. Peugeot was supposed to pay 25 crore as the first installment. So far, it has not paid anything to the state, a state government official told ET.

The Narendra Modi government drew the focus of world businesses to Sanand after offering a quick relocation to Tata's Nano project from Singur in West Bengal. It has since been planning to promote Gujarat as an emerging auto hub and treats proposed facilities by Ford, Maruti and Peugeot as trophy projects.

Modi faces elections later this year and may not like to lose a multinational whose exit at this juncture may dent his pro-development image, said a state Congress functionary on the condition of anonymity.