DaimlerChrysler to set up 2nd plant in India

German-US carmaker DaimlerChrysler today said it would set up a second plant in India in or around Pune, as the company expects the market for high-end products to grow as also launch new products.

"We have plans to set up a new plant in India which could come up in and around Pune, as we have a good supplier network in the area," Wilfried Aulbur, MD & CEO of DaimlerChrysler India, said here.

He said the company, which currently has a manufacturing facility in Pune, was looking to expand operations in the country as it expected the market for high-end products to grow in the coming time.

"We plan to manufacture products from our existing offerings in India in the proposed new plant. Also, it will give us possibility to expand in the future," Aulbur said.

He said the location for the new facility would be finalised "very soon", though refusing to divulge details on the proposed investments that could flow in.

DaimlerChrysler, which started local manufacturing of cars at its existing facility in Pune in 1995, has been making profits in India. "We have been making profits in India for a long time now...For around 6-7 years," he said.

Asked whether the new expansion plans in India would be funded fully by the parent or whether the Indian subsidiary will also contribute to it, he declined comment.

DaimlerChrysler, which sells the Mercedes Benz brand in India apart from tippers in the off-highway commercial vehicle range, sold 1,915 cars in 2005 which included 829 units of the 'C Class', 825 units of the 'E Class', 140 units of the top-end 'S Class' while the rest were CBU models.