Isuzu SUVs and LCVs to be Manufactured in Andhra Pradesh
Japanese car and commercial vehicle manufacturer, Isuzu Motors has now agreed to build its Greenfield manufacturing facility for SUVs and pick up trucks in Andhra Pradesh. The company expects to roll out the product from the facility by late 2015. And to make it possible, the company will make an investment of Rs 1,500 crore over 5-7 years, says Isuzu Deputy Managing Director, Shigeru Wakabayashi.
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After signing agreements with the Andhra Pradesh Govt and Sri City, He said to reporters, "We plan to sell some 80,000 units in the domestic market, which is growing at a healthy pace on the back of steady economic growth, and export some 40,000 units," The company is currently manufacturing its products at its facilities in Thailand and China, from where it has been exporting its vehicles to over 100 countries globally.
Andhra Pradesh which could not succeed in attracting major auto manufactures to set up their plans in the state due to absence of component manufactures' and supplier network, now expects the Isuzu plant to help it build a suppliers' hub, said the industries secretary Pradeep Chandra. He said, "While Toyota facility helped Karnataka attract some 150 auto component manufacturers, it was Nissan and Hyundai that facilitated Tamil Nadu build a network of over 250 auto part suppliers. We hope a similar success in establishing auto component manufacturers' cluster in AP,".
After finalising on Sri City to set up its facility, Isuzu official Wakabayashi said, "We plan to produce pickup truck D-MAX and pick up derivative MU-7 from the AP facility and we are currently studying details pertaining stamping, welding, painting, assembling, engine manufacturing and transmission assembling," said Wakabayashi. Speaking about the company's entry into the Indian market, he further said, "The Indian automobile industry is estimated to expand to some 10-15 million units from the current 3.6 million over the next 10 years."
Till the company sets up its facility in the country, it will import completely knocked down (CKD) units from its Thailand facility and then assemble at the plant of one of the auto players in India. The company is in talks with the Hindustan Motors to use their facility to assemble its vehicles. However, the company is currently importing completely built units (CBUs) from Thailand and launched its product in India to observe people's preference and experiences.
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Source: ET
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