US auto giant Chrysler is set to enter the Indian market and is considering various options, including licence manufacturing or a greenfiled plant, to bring its famed models in the country.
?India is the last wide area for us… last big market, and we are evaluating our strategies for India. We are having a very, very close look at it,? Thomas Hausch, VP international sales at Chrysler, told FE at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Post its divorce from Daimler AG, the US auto giant has been making efforts to strengthen, and also rationalise, its portfolio and Hausch said it had many models that could mark its entry into India. ?Our current portfolio comprises a big right-hand drive portfolio of around 16 vehicles. So we are very well equipped,? he said.
The company would bring models from all its three brands?Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge?into India, Hausch said and added that there were lot of possibilities of its entry into one of the fastest-growing markets of the world.
?It goes from buying companies to a pure licence manufacturing, and a good example of that is in between is a cooperation. To give you an example, today with Volkswagon, we buy some of their diesel engines for the world markets outside the US but at the same time we are producing minivans for them in the US. So that is a pure cooperation model that we have. Thus we have every possibility,? he said.
Without giving details, Hausch said Chrysler had been approached by several Indian companies while it had also spoken to some of them as part of licence manufacturing plans or a cooperation, like with VW.
He said the company could also go in for an all-new factory for India as part of greenfield expansion plans, but refused to give details.
On whether Chrysler could use its partnership with China?s Chery (which though has run into rough weather recently) for low-cost subcompact cars for its Indian foray, he said striking synergies from the strategic cooperation ?could be an option.?
Hausch said even though India was primarily a low-cost car market, Chrysler could start by selling its ?upscale but affordable portfolio of Chrysler jeeps? before expanding with local manufacturers, a strategy it employed in China.
He said Chrysler believed in having a manuafcturing hub for different vehicle kinds. ?It is better off that for one cheap car, we have one location with big volumes and then export from there to neighbouring regions. It is economically smart not to have production of same model in every region.?