Chennai's Automotive and Auto Components Industry Updates!

[barrykul]

Talking about TATA Nano, I think Tata's mgmt will be forced to look for some alternate manufacturing sites very soon. One of the GM workers alluded to the fact that they churn out roughly 35 cars /hr at their plant. At this rate with two shifts that works out to be 200,000 cars/yr. Tata plans for Sanand Gujarat plant is similar to what they planned at Singur - 250, 000 cars/yr. They claimed that this could be doubled to 500,000 cars/yr. The problem is that Tata will be facing demands in the millions/yr. They have to seek another few sites around the nation. India sells around 1 million passenger cars / yr (maybe down with the current economic conditions). Two-3 wheeler sell in the 10s of millions.

TN automobile infrastructure is quite promising for an alternate Tata NANO site. Tata should be thinking of exporting 1 million Nanos/year and TN is ideal for such a venture.

[dis.agree]

their gujarat plant is the mother plant. and as per their original designs, they planned for 4-5 satellite plants across the country. in north it would be pantnagar, uttaranchal. in west pune. in the east, it should be singur eventually. in south possibly darwad, but i am not sure it serves their logistical purpose very well. so, could be chennai in south and another plant in central india.

but all this might be old ideas. they might look at a franchises with other entreprenuers setting up such nano satellite plants where ever they deem fit. so, possibly one every state that has demand & that such entreprenuers find it attractive to set up a plant.

[Kewl Batty]

T. Murrali

Chennai, April 1 The UK-based Stadco Automotive will set up a prototype manufacturing facility in India soon.

The company is a Tier-I supplier of automotive body-in-white (shell of the car) products and services.

Prototype is the first fully built unit of the planned model. It is tested for functional aspects of the vehicle and helps the manufacturer to prepare for mass production.

Mr Paul Jaggers, Product Engineering Director, Stadco, told Business Line that the company would finalise the location soon.

A portion of the prototype manufacturing will be done in Chennai, where it recently opened its Product Development Centre. He did not wish to disclose the proposed investments in the facility.

Due to constraints in funding it would initially outsource stamping job – the process with which the desired profile is arrived in a sheet metal. The entire facility will fully be functional in less than two years.

At present, the prototype requirements are largely met by imports from Japan and Korea. Few vehicle manufacturers have in-house facility. It is preferable to outsource as it saves substantial time besides helping to focus on other parameters.

Stadco has 5 production facilities – four in the UK and one in Germany.

Source: http://www.blonnet.com/2009/04/02/st...0251281700.htm

[pegasu]

Originally Posted by Kewl Batty

Chennai- "the Detroit of South Asia" is the leading automotive hub in india with a base of over 30% of India's automotive industry and 35% of its auto components industry.

Being one of the top 10 Automotive hubs in the world, Chennai's AI is
projected to be around $15-$20 billion by 2015.

The Vision is to make it one of the top-3 automotive hubs of the world by 2015.

Lets first list the Major automotive companies in this hub.

visit www.pegasusfacilities.com
THE ONE AND ONLY CAR DETAILING COMPANY IN CHENNAI OFFERING DOOR STEP CAR WASH & POLISH FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS

[pegasu]

Originally Posted by Kewl Batty

T. Murrali

Chennai, April 1 The UK-based Stadco Automotive will set up a prototype manufacturing facility in India soon.

The company is a Tier-I supplier of automotive body-in-white (shell of the car) products and services.

Prototype is the first fully built unit of the planned model. It is tested for functional aspects of the vehicle and helps the manufacturer to prepare for mass production.

Mr Paul Jaggers, Product Engineering Director, Stadco, told Business Line that the company would finalise the location soon.

A portion of the prototype manufacturing will be done in Chennai, where it recently opened its Product Development Centre. He did not wish to disclose the proposed investments in the facility.

Due to constraints in funding it would initially outsource stamping job – the process with which the desired profile is arrived in a sheet metal. The entire facility will fully be functional in less than two years.

At present, the prototype requirements are largely met by imports from Japan and Korea. Few vehicle manufacturers have in-house facility. It is preferable to outsource as it saves substantial time besides helping to focus on other parameters.

Stadco has 5 production facilities – four in the UK and one in Germany.

Source: http://www.blonnet.com/2009/04/02/st...0251281700.htm

visit www.pegasusfacilities.com
THE ONE AND ONLY CAR DETAILING COMPANY IN CHENNAI OFFERING
DOOR STEP CAR WASH & POLISH PROFESSIONALLY FOR THE LAST THREE SUCCESSFUL YEARS

[nsantha2]

Originally Posted by pegasu

visit www.pegasusfacilities.com
THE ONE AND ONLY CAR DETAILING COMPANY IN CHENNAI OFFERING DOOR STEP CAR WASH & POLISH FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS

You're not supposed to be peddling your wares here. Please stop.

[Kewl Batty]

Originally Posted by pegasu

visit www.pegasusfacilities.com
THE ONE AND ONLY CAR DETAILING COMPANY IN CHENNAI OFFERING
DOOR STEP CAR WASH & POLISH PROFESSIONALLY FOR THE LAST THREE SUCCESSFUL YEARS

[Elango1984]

Japanese auto major Nissan, which is setting up a Rs 4,500-crore car-manufacturing facility with Renault in Chennai, said that the
project is on schedule and that its first car would roll out before summer 2010.

"There is no delay, our plans are on track and Nissan India will come out with its next-generation A-segment car- Micra, on schedule before summer 2010," Nissan Motor India's Managing Director and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama said.

The 50:50 joint venture between Nissan and Renault at Oragadam near Chennai, will have a capacity to manufacture four lakh cars annually and Nissan will initially produce two lakh cars, which it then proposes to scale-up to manufacture up to three lakh cars in about four years time.

The Micra hatchback car is named March in Japan and the Indian version would be christened either Micra or March, he said.

As of now the joint venture stands, though Renault, which was to originally roll out its models by mid-2010, has not yet indicated when it would now launch its vehicles from the facility.

"As of now, we only know that their launch has been postponed," Tokuyama said.

Tokuyama said Nissan proposes to manufacture 4-5 models from its stable in the next 4-5 years.

The Micra would be available in both petrol and diesel engines, he said, adding that nearly two-third of its production would be exported.

The Ennore port in north Chennai would have a dedicated jetty for exports of Nissan cars and the company hopes to export 2-2.5 lakh cars annually in 3-4 years and sell 90,000-1,00,000 units in the domestic market.

Tokuyama made it clear that Nissan has no plans to manufacture a small car to take on the Tata's Nano at this facility, but Nissan-Renault would be collaborating with Bajaj Auto to manufacture a small car in the country.

He also said that Nissan's plans to manufacture light commercial vehicles with Ashok Leyland was on but its launch has been delayed because of the prevailing economic environment.

This would be at a different facility, which was coming up in Chennai, and the proposal is that Nissan India would market the vehicles, he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/4383765.cms

[chennaidesi]

Munjals pull out of truck JV with Daimler


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/4407451.cms

[Sathisht77]

Originally Posted by chennaidesi

Munjals pull out of truck JV with Daimler


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/4407451.cms

I read in one of the articles that 200 odd employees have already been added to this project. So whether Hero is going to be a partner or not Daimler is definetly going ahead with the factory and we will see some trucks manufactured here

[Kewl Batty]

Apollo Tyres to invest Rs 700cr in FY10; net slips 50% in FY09
29 Apr 2009, 2111 hrs IST, PTI

Source

NEW DELHI: Undeterred by an over 50 per cent fall in its net profit in the last fiscal, tyre maker Apollo Tyres today said it will invest Rs 700
crore in 2009-10 mainly for completion of its Chennai greenfield facility.

The company's net profit for 2008-09 almost halved at Rs 108 crore compared to Rs 219 crore in the previous fiscal on account of high input cost and sluggish demand in the domestic auto market. Net sales rose by 10.18 per cent in FY'09 at Rs 4,070 crore compared to Rs 3,694 crore in the previous fiscal.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2009, Apollo Tyres posted a 22.04 per cent dip in its net profit at Rs 46.20 crore against Rs 59.26 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales went up 10.89 per cent at Rs 1,110 crore against Rs 1,001 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

"We have earmarked a capital expenditure of Rs 700 crore for 2009-10, of which 90 per cent will go for completion of the construction work of our upcoming Chennai facility, while the rest will be utilised for ongoing maintenance," Apollo Tyres Chief Financial Officer Sunam Sarkar told reporters.

The company is setting up a greenfield tyre producing facility in Chennai with an initial capacity of 150 tonnes per day, expandable up to 450 tonnes per day. It had announced to invest Rs 550 crore in the facility while starting the construction work in September, 2008.

[ImBoredNow]

Were nissans even sold in India prior to the news of this plant?

[dis.agree]

Originally Posted by ImBoredNow

Were nissans even sold in India prior to the news of this plant?

yes, nissans have been sold for sometime now. showroom in chennai is off nugambakkam road (somewhere behind addidas & reebok showroom). it's a wierd location.

[ferrari_fan]

True - I doubt if most Chennaiites even know it exists..

[Kewl Batty]

Wabco, TVS to part ways by divesting stakes in JVs
30 Apr 2009, 1640 hrs IST, V Balasubramanian, ET Bureau
Source

CHENNAI: The US partner, Wabco and TVS group are set to part ways by totally divesting their balance stake in favour of each other in the two
joint ventures, Sundaram- Clayton ( SCL) and Wabco- TVS.

Earlier, under the mutually agreed scheme, Wabco was to gain controlling interest in Wabco-TVS after some time by acquiring the stake of TVS. In turn, it was to allow TVS to hold majority stake in SCL.

Now, due to the severe down in the auto sector affecting the fortunes of the JVs in the domestic and export markets, the partners have made up their mind to completely exit from the ventures, according to sources close to the development.

Wabco-TVS is engaged in the manufacture and export of air brakes for commercial vehicles. It saw a dip in net profit to Rs 38.09 crore during the year ended March 31, 2009 against Rs 69.84 crore in the previous year and net sales to Rs 424.84 crore ( Rs 534.33 crore.

SCL is a leading producer of aluminium die castings for the auto sector. It also reported a sharp fall in net profit at Rs 5.42 crore during the year ended March 31, 2009 against Rs 23.92 crore in the previous year and net sales came to Rs 490.47 crore ( Rs 426.93 crore). Other income stood at Rs 30.61 crore ( Rs 27.90 crore).

Before the slump, it took more than five years for the TVS Group and US partner, Wabco to give their approval for the two way split of the businesses of Sundaram-Clayton. Finally, Wabco-TVS was carved out of SCL and got listed in stock exchanges in September 2008.

As per the arrangement, the brakes business was transferred to the newly created Wabco-TVS while SCL retained the aluminium die castings business plus the investments in companies like TVS Motor, TVS Electronics and TVS Finance.

SCL’s original paid up capital of Rs 18.96 crore was split equally ( Rs 9.48 crore each) between the two entities and the public became shareholders in both. In SCL, TVS holds 40.83% stake, Clayton Dewandre Holdings ( CDH), UK, a part of Wabco, Europe , 39.17% and the public 20%.

Ditto is the shareholding in Wabco-TVS. It was then the intention of partners that within a period of two years from the date of listing of the shares of Wabco-TVS, TVS group would retain majority control and management of SCL.

Similarly, the majority control and management of Wabco-TVS would be vested with Wabco during this period. In line with this objective, CDH was to transfer the shares held in SCL to TVS group and the latter its shares in Wabco-TVS to CDH.
These arrangements are reflected in the Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by the High Court of Madras.

However, the current severe downturn in the automobile sector in the global and Indian markets has made the promoters to rework their business plans for the ventures. They have already shelved the multi crore investment plans for the two companies to expand the capacities of brakes and foundry divisions.

Now, they want to totally exit each other from the companies by divesting their stakes. As a first step, in order to comply with SEBI guidelines to have a public holding of 25% in the companies, they intend to dilute their holding by 5% each.

Earlier, before September 2009, they had mutually planned to shed each 25% stake in favour of each other in the companies to gain controlling interest. Their current plan is to exit the ventures at one stroke. This will be done by way of transfer of their stakes through block deals as per Sebi rules.

The exit plan is aimed at allowing them to focus on their respective core competencies and more effectively capture future growth opportunities.

The brakes business requires new technology to maintain its market leadership and respond to the future needs of the Indian commercial vehicle markets for enhanced braking and advanced safety and performance systems. This is primarily driven by a significant increase in road and highway infrastructure and expected regulations for improved safety and environmental compliance.

It will enable Wabco to provide access to technology as well as leadership to pursue growth opportunities in the overseas markets for the brakes business.

On the other hand, the foundry business requires focused attention to enhance operations and further develop export markets, which will be pursued by the TVS group.

[krishnancv]

Whatever happened to the Automobile testing centre that is coming up in Oragadam? Can anyone update on its progress?

[MyNation]

CHENNAI: The setting up of an Automotive Sector Group (ASG) in Chennai with support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) was proposed by the Confederation of Indian Industry - Southern Region (CII-SR) here on Thursday. J.N.Amrolia, chairman, International Business Promotion and Networking Task Force, CII-SR, said that the automotive sector was an important industry in the Chennai region.

At an interactive meeting, CII members, automotive sector representatives, Bruno Valanzuolo, chief technical officer, UNIDO, and Santa Mole, director, Italian Co-operation Office, New Delhi, looked at means of co-operation and technology transfer between the Indian and the Italian auto industries with UNIDO support.

Sujith Haridas, regional director, CII-SR, said that the cluster development programme taken up by the CII with UNIDO support had been successful.

As part of the partnership programme mooted by CII and UNIDO, member companies of CII had come up with 42 proposals for partnerships worth 100-million euro and 20 technology transfer proposals which had been drawn up for further negotiation, he said. The proposals were presented to Dr. Mole by Mr. Amrolia on behalf of the CII. She assured the support of the Italian government and industry to the projects. Mr. Valanzuolo said that UNIDO had been associated with the Indian leather and auto industries, and would continue to support both of them during the current slowdown.

S.Sivagnanam, director, MSME-Development Institute, Chennai, detailed the steps taken by the government to aid MSMEs. He also outlined the institute’s newly proposed distance learning programme.

G.K.Moinudeen, head, Tamil Nadu Technology Development Promotion Centre (TNTDPC) spoke about the favourable investment climate created by the State Government.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/12/stor...1253920500.htm

[MyNation]

MUMBAI/HYDERABAD: French automaker, Peugeot-Citroen is likely to set up its manufacturing facility for mid-sized cars in Hyderabad or Chennai.
Though investment details are yet to be finalised, a person familiar with the development said the proposed capital expenditure could be in the range of e350 to million. It’s been 11 years since the French automaker last set its sights on the Indian market after its earlier joint venture (JV) with the Doshis of Premier Padmini fell through. When contacted, Rajesh Nellore, managing director of Peugot-Citroen India refused to comment.

A top level management team from Peugeot visited Hyderabad recently and met officials in the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and state Industries department to discuss the modalities of the greenfield project. The company officials also reviewed the specifications of the site prescribed by the state government at Adibhatla SEZ near Shamshabad International airport. The identified land lies on the outskirts of Hyderabad with close proximity to two international airports — Hyderabad and Bangalore — and three seaports — Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Naidupet near Guntur.

Andhra Pradesh (AP) has earmarked a 1,000-acre site for the project which was also offered to the Tatas’ Nano project earlier. Companies investing over Rs 4,000 crore in the state are eligible for a 100% exemption on VAT (value-added tax) for a period of 21 years. The French carmaker has been evaluating various locations in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and AP for its car project in India.

Over the past few months, the French auto major is also understood to have discussed possible alliances with many partners in India. Earlier, Peugeot had joined hands with Premier Automobiles to make the 309 model in the country. While in Latin America and Brazil, Peugeot-Citroen has 100% subsidiaries, in other countries such as Russia the company has opted for JVs with Mitsubishi for entering a market. Peugeot-Citroen has been aggressively targeting emerging markets to pump up sales, as volumes are under severe pressure in its home markets.

The company, which plans to roll out cars in India in the next two years, has chosen to make its play is above Rs 5-lakh segment. Recently, it also conducted a feasibility study of its various Peugeot-Citroen brands like 407, 206, 308, C4, and C5. Peugeot will be marketed as a mainstream brand while Citroen will be targeting the top end and it intends to launch both the brands in a short timespan. “In terms of pricing, Citroen will be in a more premium bracket,” said an official familiar with the development.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/4669600.cms

i doubt if chennai can get this....

[MyNation]

NEW DELHI: In what would be one of the largest FDI inflows into the country, Michelin & Cie, the world’s second-largest tyre maker, is
looking to invest up to Rs 7,000 crore ($1.48 billion) in India over a 10-year period to make and market radial tyres and tubes in the country.

Incidentally, this development follows the French tyre manufacturer’s announcement to cut 2,900 jobs in France as part of a business reorganisation to focus on higher-margin tyres.

For Michelin, this project comes after a joint venture with Delhi-based Apollo Tyres failed to take off. Apollo Tyres has already given a no- objection certificate (NOC) to Michelin
to start its own operations in the country even as the French tyre major continues to own around 8% in it.

A person directly involved in the transaction said the French tyre giant has sought government approval to acquire 100% stake in a new company Michelin India Tamil Nadu Tyres formed in April 2009. This company will set up the proposed greenfield unit, which would absorb investment worth Rs 4,000 crore in the first phase running into 2016.

“The company may ramp up investments by another Rs 3,000 crore after the first phase,” said the person who did not wish to be identified. Michelin has been negotiating with the Tamil Nadu government for procuring land for the project. It wants to set up a plant on 290 acres in an industrial park developed by State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu.

The first phase of the proposed project in Tamil Nadu will provide jobs to around 1,500 people, which may go up to 2,000 after further investment of Rs 3,000 crore is made. Over time, half of the tyres and tubes produced at the plant will be exported.

The slack demand of tyres has impacted all major markets across the globe, especially in the US and Europe where sales have fallen by a third in the past few months.

Tyre sales in India, however, had kept the industry buoyant riding on the back of rising passenger car and two-wheeler sales. Strong demand from the replacement market after a high single-digit growth in FY09 for the 10 crore vehicles plying in India has also helped the tyre market.

In the past, many multinationals companies have announced multi-billion dollar projects for India, but many of them have delayed investment either because of the slowdown or because of regulatory constraints on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Most recently, Swedish furnishings retailer Ikea decided to postpone its foray into India in the wake of continuing restrictions on FDI in retail sector. There are no such restrictions on FDI in the tyre sector. ..........................

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/4669598.cms

[tokavin]

Mumbai, June 24 PSA Peugeot-Citroen is expected to take a call on entering the Indian market by end-September this year, say top industry sources.

“Indications are that Peugeot will go ahead with the India plan but tread cautiously. Numbers will be modest to begin with and could be ramped up gradually depending on market acceptance of the products on offer,” they added. Cars could begin rolling out by end-2011 if things go according to schedule.

The French company was, ironically, among the earlier entrants to India way back in 1993-94 with its 309 model.

However, it was bogged down by a series of constraints starting with a labour strife at its Kalyan plant (near Mumbai), shortage of CKD (completely knocked down) kits, a liquidity crunch and finally a legal spat with its local partner which had to be resolved in court. Peugeot won the case but then stunned industry circles by deciding to call it quits in November 1997. It was a move that left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth right from financiers and dealers to suppliers and customers since dues had not been squared with most of them.

Sources say that it is this legacy that haunts Peugeot even today which makes it “doubly apprehensive” about India. It is possibly for this reason, they add, that the PSA group would be more comfortable about opting for the Citroen range first so that there are no “uncomfortable recall issues associated with brand Peugeot”.

What is clear though is that the new CEO of Peugeot-Citroen, Mr Philippe Varin, is clear that the company will have to think more globally especially, for business opportunities in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies. Peugeot is still perceived as being far too Europe-centric with little idea of the world beyond.

Reports have also been doing the rounds that the company has zeroed in on Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for its potential second innings. “The lockout at the Kalyan facility still rankles because it was the beginning of a series of woes in India way back in 1996. Peugeot would be more comfortable in the South where the work ethic is different,” sources said.

The company already has a sourcing office in Chennai which could tilt the scales in favour of Tamil Nadu. The State also has a strong component base, critical from the viewpoint of localisation. However, Andhra Pradesh will also pitch aggressively. There were near misses earlier in the form of Volkswagen and Proton. This time around, the Government will pull out all stops to offer the best incentive package.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...2552410100.htm