Continental begins producing fuel pumps locally in India

Bangalore, May 7, 2013: Continental Automotive Systems India has begun manufacture of fuel pumps in India, further pushing its localisation drive in the country. The component supplier’s Business Unit Fuel Supply has begun delivery of a locally produced in-tank fuel pump for the compact car segment at its Pune facility. The product is believed to be for supply to the Volkswagen Polo.

“We are constantly adapting to the growing market in India. Now the complete production of fuel delivery modules in India is possible, which should give us the competitive edge,” said Dr Markus Distelhoff, Head of the global Business Unit (pictured).

The pump has been assembled in a clean room environment, with rigorous pre-launch validation testing carried out in Continental’s recently inaugurated test and validation laboratory in Bangalore. While localised pumps are ideal for the compact entry level passenger car segment, further deployment for the two-wheeler market is being considered. Continental has invested approximately two million euros (Rs 14 crore) to bring this project to realisation.

The company says it has already delivered the first batch of fuel pumps to the customer and is currently in the process of expanding the scope of this localisation programme to other customer lines including both petrol and diesel gerotor pumps.

Anurag Garg, head of Continental’s Pune location, said, “In 2012, we inaugurated product lines for fuel rail assemblies and fuel pumps at our Pune facility. Additionally, we set up a test and validation lab in Bangalore that ensures local testing infrastructure and competence. We are now ready with our first localised pump for the compact passenger car segment. We are committed to providing market-specific relevant offerings to our local customers in India and are making steady progress on this front.”