Volkswagen’s Chakan plant completes five years

Team OD Updated: April 04, 2014, 06:13 PM IST

German automaker Volkswagen's Chakan manufacturing plant has completed five years. Construction began in 2007 and the plant was completed in just 17 months on March 31, 2009, with an investment of 3,800 crore rupees. This manufacturing facility holds the record among all Volkswagen production establishments for fastest construction completion.

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The plant has produced more than 3,67,000 units since its inception and employs around 3,400 employees. Volkswagen says that this facility brings German engineering and quality standards to India. The Chakan facility has produced models like the Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid - it produces models for both exports and domestic sales.

Volkswagen Chakan Plant timeline:

Volkswagen Pune Plant celebrates Five years of German Engineering Made in India_Infographic

The Think Blue Factory initiative has also been implemented over here reducing the plants environmental footprint by 25 per cent. Several steps have been taken to reduce consumption of water/energy and generation of waste along with lowering of CO2 and VOC emissions.

"The Volkswagen Pune Plant is one of the most modern car production facilities in India. With the inauguration of Pune Plant, Volkswagen not only brought German engineering to the Indian Subcontinent, but also kicked off the production of car models for the volume segments in India. And we are not only producing cars with highest quality for the domestic market in India; we are also currently exporting our Volkswagen Polo and Vento models to more than 30 countries across three continents. This is clear proof of the high standards we have achieved at our Pune Plant over the past five years," said Mahesh Kodumudi, chief representative, Volkswagen Group India and president and MD, Volkswagen India Private Ltd.

Volkswagen Pune Plant celebrates five years of German Engineering Made in India


Pune, April 2, 2014: The Volkswagen Pune Plant in Chakan celebrated its five-year anniversary on 31st March 2014. This state-of-the-art manufacturing facility has been a fine example of "German Engineering Made in India." The Pune Plant has also been serving as the Headquarters for the Volkswagen Group in India. Since the inauguration, more than 367,000 cars have rolled out of the Volkswagen production facility in Chakan, where currently around 3,400 people are employed. Volkswagen India Private Limited began construction of the Volkswagen Pune Plant in Chakan in 2007 with an initial investment commitment of 3,800 crore (580 Million Euro). The Plant was built in a record time of 17 months – a record across all the Volkswagen manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Volkswagen Pune Plant was inaugurated on 31st March 2009 by the then Honourable Governor of Maharashtra, His Excellency Shri. S. C. Jamir and Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Management Board of Volkswagen AG who was then responsible for Volkswagen Group's Production worldwide. Spread over a total land area of approximately 575 acres, the Volkswagen Pune Plant is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility housing the entire automotive production process – from Press Shop through Body Shop and Paint Shop to Assembly. By incorporating futuristic technologies like Diode Laser Welding and Inline Measurement Processes, Volkswagen India has emphasized on bringing German Production Technology to "Made in India" cars. The Volkswagen Pune Plant began full-fledged manufacturing of cars in May 2009 with the ŠKODA Fabia, followed by the Volkswagen Polo in December 2009. The production of the first Made for India Volkswagen model – the Vento, began in August 2010 while that of the ŠKODA Rapid began in October 2011. With these cars, Volkswagen India ensured that it brought the volume models of the Volkswagen Group to the Indian consumer. Since the beginning, the Volkswagen Pune Plant has manufactured over 367,000 cars and is currently providing employment to approximately 3400 direct and indirect employees. Volkswagen is synonymous with quality. Producing the highest quality cars has been a rule for the Volkswagen Group and the Pune Plant has adhered to this rule without exception. This highest international product quality standard has enabled the company to make forays into even mature foreign markets. After starting the export of Vento to South Africa in 2011, Volkswagen has expanded its export activities to 32 countries across three continents of Asia, Africa and North America, which include left-hand drive markets like Mexico and AGCC (Arab Gulf Cooperation Council). Also, as part of the export activities, Volkswagen India initiated its Parts & Components Business Unit (PCB Unit) at its Pune Plant which exports parts and components of Polo and Vento to Malaysia where they are assembled for the Malaysian market. While the Volkswagen Pune Plant has been an epitome of German Engineering and Quality, it also focuses on environment friendly manufacturing through its Think Blue. Factory.initiatives. These initiatives have been adopted by Volkswagen manufacturing plants across the world and the Pune Plant has been contributing to this cause since 2012. With a target of reducing the impact on environment due to manufacturing processes by 25%, several initiatives are undertaken by the Plant to reduce energy consumption, water consumption,CO2 emissions, waste generation and VOC emissions.The Volkswagen Pune Plant also runs an innovative service of Plant Tours wherein interested individuals or groups of people can visit the facility for a detailed tour of the production unit in Chakan. The visitors get detailed information of major automotive manufacturing processes and get to see most of them during these visits. By the end of 2013, the Volkswagen Pune Plant had already welcomed over 25,000 visitors which included school children, college students, corporates, investors and many more."The Volkswagen Pune Plant is one of the most modern car production facilities in India. With the inauguration of Pune Plant, Volkswagen not only brought "German Engineering made by Volkswagen in India" to the Indian Subcontinent, but also kicked off the production of car models for the volume segments in India. And we are not only producing cars with highest quality for the domestic market in India; we are also currently exporting our Volkswagen Polo and Vento models to more than 30 countries across three continents. This is clear proof of the high standards we have achieved at our Pune Plant over the past five years," said Mr. Mahesh Kodumudi, Chief Representative of Volkswagen Group India and President and Managing Director of Volkswagen India Private Limited.
  

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Displacement
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Transmission
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Max Power(ps)
110
Max Torque(Nm)
175
Mileage
18.97 Kmpl
Price (Ex-Delhi)
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Displacement
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Transmission
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Max Torque(Nm)
175
Mileage
16.47 Kmpl
Price (Ex-Delhi)
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Displacement
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Transmission
Automatic
Max Power(ps)
105
Max Torque(Nm)
175
Mileage
17.69 Kmpl