The Maharashtra Blueprint: Scaling Toyota’s ‘Greenfield Ecosystem’ Beyond Karnataka

In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar of Maharashtra, a new kind of construction is beginning. It isn’t just about pouring concrete for another automotive plant; it is about seeding a skill park.

“In Maharashtra, we are coming out with a new skill park where a similar kind of institute, based on our learnings here, is going to be set up,” says Shankara G, Chief Strategy Officer and Director, EVP-Finance & Admin at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM). The "learning" he refers to is a decades-long experiment in human engineering that began in Japan in 1937 and has found its most ambitious testing ground in India.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has unveiled its most ambitious investment plan, which involves investing over USD 3 billion (approximately Rs 26,000 crore) in the country. It includes a greenfield facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, spread over around 850 acres.
Additionally, the company is setting up another factory in Bidadi, Karnataka, where it already has two units.

While most manufacturers seek out established industrial hubs with ready-made infrastructure, Toyota has historically done the opposite: they find relatively empty land where not much exists. They then build the plant, the suppliers, and, most importantly, the people, from scratch.

The 10% Crisis:

As the global automotive component industry shifts toward electric vehicles and software-defined machines, the people gap is becoming a chasm. In mature economies like Japan, formal skilling among the workforce stands at a staggering 95%. In India, that figure languishes at less than 10%.

It’s a ceiling on India’s ambitions to become a global manufacturing powerhouse by 2047. Without a structural shift in how workers are prepared, the sophisticated machines will remain underutilized.

“People make the technology. People are the asset,” Shankara G explains.

For Toyota, the Toyota Production System (TPS), which arguably is the world-renowned framework for efficiency in the automotive industry, isn't actually about machines. It is a people development system. “We don’t look for, sit and invest for productivity increase... we develop people, and people will take care of the rest,” he adds.

60/40: The New Shop Floor Currency:

Walk into the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) near Bengaluru, and you will find a curriculum that would baffle a traditional trade school. It follows a strict 60/40 rule: 60% of the time is dedicated to "body and mind" (attitude and values), while only 40% goes toward technical knowledge and skill.

In the modern automotive landscape, technical skills are depreciating assets. A technician can learn to weld in months, but if they lack curiosity or the discipline of "continuous improvement" (Kaizen), they become obsolete the moment a robot takes over that weld.

“Skill can be taught, you can unlearn the skill, and you can relearn the skill,” says Shankara G. “What is required is keeping people's attitude; their mindset, value system. If this is maintained, the skilling can keep changing as it comes.” This focus on "attitude" as currency is what allows Toyota to evolve. When AI or new software enters the plant, the top executive claims that they don't fire the workforce; they simply "re-upload" new skills into the same disciplined minds.

The Japan 'Mindset' Investment

Perhaps the most significant investment in this ecosystem is the Global Skill Training (GST) program. While many firms send engineers abroad, Toyota sends its blue-collar "workman category" technicians to Japan for a full year. It is a massive financial commitment, but the ROI is measured in "structural shifts," Shankara G continued.

“That is what we want. Structural shift,” he says. When these workmen return, they bring back more than just technical precision; they bring a Japanese level of discipline and safety protocols—such as the "Point and Check" safety habit—that becomes infectious on the Indian shop floor.

Way forward:

Toyota’s PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycle is now applied to human resources every year. Modules that are no longer relevant are "rolled back," and digital skills are seeded years before they are needed. The Maharashtra skill park will be the next chapter in this narrative.