BMW Plant Chennai - Official opening
The BMW Group held the official opening of the BMW Plant Chennai on 29 March 2007. The subsidiary company in Delhi started up operations at the beginning of 2007 and opening the plant is the second important step in India's emerging growth market. To date, around 20 million euros have been invested in the sales structure and the plant.Long-term opportunities for growth
At the official opening in Chennai, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Executive Board of BMW AG commented: "Particularly in the premium automobile segment, India offers big opportunities for growth. Opening this plant underpins our long-term route to profitable growth." In addition to the new production facilities, consistent build-up of a powerful sales structure has paved the way for this expanded profile. The BMW Group has been active in the Indian market through a dealer network over the past 10 years. Establishment of an independent subsidiary company managed by the BMW Group was the next key logical step towards creating a significant platform to serve the emerging growth market in India. Since the beginning of 2007, Delhi has been the focus of sales operations. The dealer network will be expanded from there to encompass all the big cities on the Indian subcontinent.
Premium products from and for India
The decision to locate a facility at Chennai was based on the strategy "Production follows the market". When the plant was inaugurated, Frank Peter Arndt, Production Director at BMW AG, explained: "The strategy of local production allows us to exploit the opportunities available for opening up and exploiting markets with long-term potential for growth. In India, we will have local production for a significant proportion of sales with BMW vehicles in the 3 Series and 5 Series. We are delighted to be operating as a "local player" in India."
The BMW Plant Chennai is located in the south west of India in the Tamil Nadu region, approximately 40 kilometres north-west of Chennai (formerly Madras in the Mahindra World City industrial park. The complex covers a total area of 89,000 m² and has a production area of 13,000m². In February 2007, the first BMW 3 Series rolled off the production line of the new plant after a construction period of just 12 months.
Initially, BMW Plant Chennai is employing a workforce of some 120 to build around 1,700 cars a year in a single shift. The BMW 3 and 5 Series built in Chennai are destined exclusively for the Indian market. They leave the plant with the customary premium quality. Naturally, the global standards of the BMW Group are also consistently applied here to production in India. Final visual inspections and operational tests ensure that the quality of each vehicle produced at the Chennai Plant is manufactured to the specified standard quality. The tests include a seal tightness test cabin, a rolling road dynamometer and a test track, to check that all systems are running smoothly in every BMW. Other model series, such as the BMW 7 Series, X5 or X3 are imported to provide customers with a large and attractive range of BMW vehicles.
When a production site was being selected, Chennai was the ideal choice because it provided the best possible conditions for meeting a wide range of different criteria. One positive aspect was the presence of other automobile manufacturers including an appropriate supplier industry. Another advantage was the outstanding pool of qualified labour available at Chennai. Local logistics offered excellent facilities including an international airport, a well-developed road network and an ocean port. "Chennai is an ideal site and I'm very pleased to be in a position to expand the production network of the BMW Group with a highly motivated team," commented plant manager Stefan Hülsenberg on the day of the inauguration.
The human success factor
Apart from sophisticated working processes and the most advanced plant technology, the human factor plays a key role in the production of premium products. The workforce at the BMW Plant Chennai have all completed 10 years of school education at various levels and have also undergone several years of further training. 88 percent of all employees also have experience in the automobile industry. Appropriate skill levels for operations at the Chennai Plant have been achieved by exploiting proven knowledge transfer within the BMW Group - the majority of the 120 Indian employees received training for their jobs at the BMW Plant in Thailand. The project team responsible for setting up the plant was also supported by colleagues from Munich, Regensburg and Dingolfing. Ultimately, all of these factors will contribute to ensuring that BMW vehicles built at the BMW Plant Chennai offer the premium quality which is the hallmark of the BMW Group the world over.