Mercedes Benz inaugurates its first Indian assembly plant in Pune

Chakan (Maharashtra), Feb 25 (ANI): It is 'Curtains Up' for Mercedes-Benz India's assembly plant at Chakan near Pune to roll out the famed classic cars on Indian soil.

This manufacturing facility was formally inaugurated at a well attended function on Tuesday (February 24).

The new plant was completed in just over a year from the date its construction commenced.

According to the officials of the Mercedes-Benz India, a hall mark of this plant, spread over an area of 100 acres, is that it has been one of the fastest green-field projects executed in India.

Right from land acquisition to independent assembly facilities for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the infrastructure was created to address future expansion needs, underscoring the long-term growth plans of the company in India.

The company will manufacture 5000 cars and 1200 commercial vehicle and will employ 500 technicians and allied workers.

Dr. (Ing) Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz India said that this plant will mark the beginning of a new era for the company in India to see new products roll off the assembly line.

"It has been pretty fast construction. We started 13 months back. It is state-of-the-art assembly facility. It has standard processes and sets a bench mark both on the passenger car side in the commercial vehicle side. In terms of technology, it has the latest technology, latest measurement technology for example CMM machines, roller tester, high pressure, shower tester to make sure we can build the kind of cars, we have built in the past, even faster and even with higher quality," said Dr. (Ing) Wilfried Aulbur.

He also mentioned that the company implemented shared services with its Bangalore operations and in the process of installing the first engineering team at the Chakan plant.

Mercedes-Benz had its first association with India in 1954 when it collaborated with Tata Engineering Locomotive Company (TELCO) for the production of trucks under the name Tata Mercedes-Benz (TMB) which ruled the Indian roads ferrying tonnes of freight. (ANI)