As part of its aggressive India growth plan and strategy to claw back market share in the luxury car market, Mercedes-Benz India Ltd (MBIL) has begun operations at its fully automated paint shop in Chakan, Pune. The same day saw the company roll out its first locally manufactured M-class SUV.
The roll-out of the M-class and the paint shop inauguration were done by Peter Honegg, MD and CEO, MBIL, Ralf Mungenast, director, International Productions, Daimler AG and Piyush Arora, director, technical, MBIL.
In sync with global standards
The technologically advanced paint shop, set up with an investment of Rs 200 crore, is very much in sync with Daimler’s overall plans to grow market share in India. In an interview to Autocar Professional (August 1, 2012), Peter Honegg had said: “Our installed capacity is 10,000 units. Our plan for the next 8-10 years is to ramp up to 80,000-90,000 units annually. With a third shift, the paint shop can reach 30,000 units in a year and with a little bit of investment we can go to 40,000 units. We can expand as we need, up to 90,000 units per year.”
The state-of-the-art paint shop is capable of water-based painting using highly sophisticated and environment friendly water-based painting technology. The fully automated facility maintains identical painting standards in line with Daimler's stringent global norms. Its key highlights include the flow of cars with the latest communication systems for conveyors and tracking of each and every car at every stage with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems.
The control of all the equipment is through a central server and automated feedback loops for equipment ensures optimum settings according to the process and environmental conditions.
The paint shop also boasts sophisticated checking laboratories. The automated selection of colours is enabled for robots and an online status of input and output offers flexibility and complete control in production sequencing.
Speaking at the inauguration, Piyush Arora commented, “The new paint shop now positions us as a global benchmark within the Mercedes-Benz world. It underscores our bullish outlook for India and we look forward to introducing more locally produced vehicles. The paint shop and the additional assembly lines will be the cornerstone of Mercedes-Benz’s product offensive.”
The paint shop, which covers 17,000 square metres, has an annual capacity of 20,000 units which is extendable to 40,000 units annually. It will help bolster the luxury carmaker's production quality, flexibility and agility.
M-class rolls out
The ML250 CDI, which slots below the more expensive ML350 CDI, is priced at Rs 46.50 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), is the first M-class to be assembled in India via semi-knocked-down kits.
The luxury SUV, targeted at the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 that are a segment lower, is powered by a 204bhp 2.2-litre, twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine.
According to Peter Honegg, “The ML250 CDI is the first M-class ever to be offered from a local production outside Mercedes-Benz’s SUV plant in Tuscaloosa, USA."
The SUV's production involves the use of latest technology at the plant using synchronised conveyor systems and the latest PLC control units for all equipment. This provides adaptability with different models on common production lines, thereby increasing flexibility. The use of technology enabled processes like EMS (transfer and production lines with latest-generation controllers), X-road (dynamic testing and programming of cars and frequency controlled measurements for accuracy) facilitate quality production.
AMIT PANDAY