Production units in India are best in the world, say car manufacturers

Chennai: Multinational automotive plants in India rank among the top across the world in terms of their productivity and quality. Top auto MNCs like Hyundai, Toyota and Suzuki rank their Indian production facilities right on top of their global pecking order. Despite fighting it out with factories in much larger markets - including the US and China - some of these plants fare better cranking out cars at upwards of 98-99% efficiency.

Take Hyundai Motor India (HMI) which has two plants in its Sriperumbudur facility near Chennai. The newer, second plant actually ranks number one in terms of productivity and quality according to Bo Shin Seo, CEO & MD, Hyundai Motor India (HMI). "Hyundai has plants in China, Russia, Brazil, the US (Alabama), Turkey and Czech Republic and in terms of operational average productivity ratio we are number one," he added. HMI's second plant makes two models and routinely hits average productivity ratio of upwards of 99.7%.

Of course a number of the bigger plants crank out many more volumes - Hyundai's China plant for example produces 4-5 different models while the newest factory in Brazil cranks out just one model but at "very high productivity ratio," he added. Between its two plants Hyundai can expand its production to hit 700,000 units on a three-shift basis though currently the volumes are lower due to the demand skid in the marketplace.

Hyundai isn't the only MNC to hit top spot with its Indian factory. Take Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) which has invested around Rs 4700 crore to build two plants at its facility near Bangalore. Like HMI, TKM's plants too rank right up there among Toyota's global pecking order. "In the last three years we have had an internal shipping quality audit wherein a global team comes and checks vehicles randomly at the shipping yard for defects. On that basis, they have come to conclusion that TKM plants are the number one alongside Toyota's China and Thailand facilities," stated Shekar Vishwanathan, vice chairman, TKM.

Like the Hyundai plant, the TKM factories too run at 98-99% efficiency. "Efficiency is measured by both the speed of the conveyor belt as well as the ability to change the speed of the line according to demand variation," said Vishwanathan. "We make 600 vehicles per day over two shifts." The total capacity in the two plants is around 310,000 units over 278 working days in a year.

In terms of pecking order ranks though car marketleader Maruti hogs the lion's share of parent Suzuki's global production. With its 1.5 million unit a year current manufacturing capacity, Maruti is Suzuki International's largest production centre worldwide.

India comprises just short of half of Suzuki's global sales volumes and commands around 25% of its total sales revenue, said a Maruti executive. Maruti Suzuki plans to add another 250,000 units this year, with its new factory in Manesar at a cost of Rs 2100 crore. That plus the proposed Rs 4000 crore Gujarat plant - which will add another 250,000 unit capacity by 2015 - will take Maruti's total production numbers to two million units a year. Already Maruti's India sales are more than what the Japanese company sells in its home market in Japan.