Mercedes-Benz. For decades, for many Indians, it remained the ultimate in automotive luxury. But few in all these years ever dreamt that German brand would ever make cars ? in India, till they finally started at the Tata Motors plant in Pune about a decade ago. Actually the collaboration started way back in 1954, and with trucks, for which the collaborators Tata became the byword in the category. Last year, the company sold 3,625 cars in India, about 0.3% of its global sales. However that still represented a doubling of sales from the previous years? figures, a feat that the Indian company has been achieving for the last three years.
It is perhaps figures like this that are made the iconic brand finally recognise and open its own plant in India. The plant at Chikali on the outskirts of Pune, from which Mercedes India rolled out its 20,000th car in April last year, was leased property (for those interested, there are about 25,000 Mercs in India now, largely India-produced).
The one at Chakan, is on the other hand, its own, a state of the art facility currently capable of making 5,000 passenger cars and 1,200 commercial vehicles annually. The project has been a record within the company ? a greenfield project that finished in 13 months, informs Dr Joachim Schmidt, Chairman of the Board, Mercedes-Benz India, who was in India earlier this week.
Quality testing
That the spanking new plant, built over 100 acres, would comply with the company?s exacting standards was a given.
What was a surprise, says Eberhard Haller, who heads the brand?s largest plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, was the amount of flexibility the plant has to adapt to increased future demands, which will provide competitive flexibility in the Indian market. ?It has the latest technology in its bodyshop and assembly lines, with integrated shower testing for quality checks. And has been built with a cost saving of 5%.? The Sindelfingen plant turns out about 2,000 cars a day, about 70% for export!
The Chakan plant, in contrast, is a CKD or Complete knock down plant. Which essentially means car, truck and bus parts are brought from different parts of the world ? in this case from Brazil and Germany, a common automotive practice. The parts arrive in huge crates, besides local module suppliers ? MSSL for cockpit and harness, Tata Johnson for seats, SM Auto for the sheet metal main flooring and Force Motors for engine and axle. ?It would not make sense for us to have a complete plant unless about 250,000 cars are sold at a location,? says Schmidt. There are separate areas for passenger and commercial vehicles. ?About 40-50% of the cars made will be C-Class here,? informs Dr Wilfrid Aulbur, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. Mercedes also has such plants in Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, informs Haller.
Growth time
General Manager, Production, Muralidhar Nayak, explains the process. The cars, or rather its parts, go straight to the body shop, where there are separate lines for E and C Class cars. This is an impressive double storey maze of pipes, rods, machines, neat notice boards ? all of different shapes, sizes and colours, besides humans in blue and grey overalls ? the latter colours incidentally are almost a must in the city, where almost every factory exterior has a touch of blue and grey, if not in entirety!
The weld line, as the name suggests, weld parts of the car ? deciding the strength of the car. Then the shell goes to finish line, where bolt on parts and doors etc get added and it is checked for small undulations, and any gaps. Post this, they are transferred in closed trucks to the Tata Motors paint shop in Chikali, where four coats of paint adorn the body.
?Then its back to the assembly section, where the fitment starts in the trim line,? informs Nayak, pointing to another set of impressive machinery on the other half of the huge shed. ?This process starts from the bottom of the car ? pipings, cable harness and seats are among those that fall in position here.
On to the mechanical line, where a lot more is added ? including the axle and propeller shaft. ?The engine is cranked here for the first time, and tests are done ? roller, dynamic etc for braking, electronic systems, functions of all parts,? he says. This is followed by, to a lay person at least, an almost quasi-religious which goes by the name of shower test ? when the car is impinged with water! And bow, for another Merc is born.
While the car-making process can be done in as less as two days, informs Haller, in practice this depends on the market demand.
And given the gleaming factory ? a car fan may excused for thinking he (or indeed the rare she) could be excused for thinking heaven had suddenly propped up in the neighbourhood.
Factory facts
What Mercedes India CKD plant
Where Chakan, Maharashtra
Owner Daimler subsidiary
Area 100 acres
Capacity 5,000 cars and 1,200 commercial vehicles annually
Opened in 2009
Cost to build 50 million euros
Number of employees 500
Brands made Mercedes-Benz, Actros trucks, AMG, Mercedes-Benz buses neighbours Volkswagen, GM, Tata Motors, Fiat, Bajaj Auto
Neighbours Volkswagen, GM, Tata Motors, Fiat, Bajaj Auto