Mercedes-Benz, which is seeing handsome demand for its cars in India, has added a new production line at its Chakan plant in Pune. This helps double the German carmaker’s annual capacity from the earlier 10,000 units to 20,000 units and also become the company with the largest installed production capacity for any luxury carmaker in India. With the addition of the new line, the Pune plant now sees an overall investment of around 150 million euros (Rs 1,146 crore) since inception.

On June 11, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the new production facility and also drove out the first-ever made-in-Chakan GLA compact car. Also present on the occasion were Prakash Javadekar, Union minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change; Subhash Desai, minister for industries, Maharashtra; Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India and Piyush Arora, executive director (Operations), Mercedes-Benz India.

Mercedes-Benz will assemble the GLA for the first time at the Chakan plant. The compact car will become the company’s sixth local model after the C-class, E-class and S-class sedans, and the M-class and GL-class SUVs. The carmaker will, however, only assemble the diesel GLA here; the petrol variant will continue to be imported into the country as a CBU. The prices for the locally assembled GLA 200 CDI start at Rs 31.31 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune), a difference of over Rs 2 lakh from the imported car.

To prepare for the production of this new model, synchronized conveyor systems, new assembly lines, and a new roller tester were installed amongst other devices. The start of production of the GLA compact car at the Pune plant also marks the first time that Mercedes-Benz is locally producing compact cars in its global assembly network along with sedans and SUVs.

Beyond the Mercedes-Benz plant in India, this network comprises further locations in Thailand, Vietnam, Malayasia, Indonesia, and will be joined by Brazil in 2016 where a new assembly plant is currently under construction. At these sites, Mercedes-Benz produces cars for local markets with different production levels – for example from vehicle kits (Completely Knocked Down/CKD and Semi Knocked Down/SKD).

Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said: “Rolling out our first ever locally manufactured GLA and commencing production from India’s largest installed luxury car production facility are two very significant accomplishments for Mercedes-Benz in India. These are a result of our long-term vision for the Indian market. Our endeavours are all driven by our customer-centric approach.”

Piyush Arora, executive director (Operations), Mercedes-Benz India, added: “Our state-of-the-art production facility which is a benchmark in quality and technological advancement in manufacturing has been the backbone of our growth in India. The high level of refinement and implementation of advanced technology and flexible processes ensures our production quality conforms to the most stringent global Mercedes-Benz standards.”

Mercedes-Benz, which is seeing record sales in India, recorded a growth of 53 percent (year-on-year) in March 2015. Moreover, it also recorded its highest-ever fiscal year sales of 11,213 units in April-March 2015, up 17.5 percent from a year ago (9,548 units), making Mercedes the first luxury carmaker to sell over 11,000 units in a fiscal year.

Photography: Kuldeep Chaudhari