The French automobile company PSA Peugeot Citroen has zeroed in on Sanand,Gujarat to set up its manufacturing facility in India. The company plans to invest around Rs. 4000 crores in this project. According to a senior official at the Chief Minister's Office, the manufacturer has been scouting for a location for setting up its plant for quite some time. The multinational company was considering Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat among the desired locations. However ultimately Gujarat was finalized after prolonged discussions and exploring all the destinations.
The official further added that a delegation comprising Gregoire Olivier, CEO (Asian Operations) and Frederic Fabre, MD, PSA Peugeot (India) will be arriving in Ahmedabad tomorrow, 1st September. During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed for the car project. This will be followed by an official announcement within a week's time.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, in all likelihood, will be allotted land in the area nearby the Ford Motor's upcoming plant in Sanand itself. This area is an emerging hub for the automotive industry in India, following Chennai, Gurgaon and Pune. Gujarat is also home to General Motors' largest plant in India at Halol near Vadodara. Besides, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. had earlier announced that it will set up its second plant in Gujarat. This has generated interest among other automobile majors like Hero Honda (now Hero MotoCorp) and Bajaj Auto as well to set up their plants in the close vicinity. Besides, Tata Motors` most prestigious “Nano” project also has its base in Sanand ,which is just 40 km from Ahmedabad.
Delegates from the company met the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr.Narendra Modi, about two months ago. Almost a decade ago, Peugeot had a joint venture with the Premier family, which was known as PAL Peugeot India. They came up with the 309 sedan . However, the partnership ran in rough waters by 2001. Presently, the company is planning to produce a mid-size sedan in the proposed plant and is aiming for an annual production capacity of around 3 lac cars.
Sanand first came into limelight when the Tata Motors’ Nano plant was relocated here from Singur, West Bengal. On 26 July 2011 an agreement was signed by Ford Motors with the Government of Gujarat to set up a Rs. 5000 crores plant at Sanand. Thegovernment allotted over 1,100 acres and 400 acres for the Tata Motors and Ford plants respectively.
PSA Peugeot Citroen was the only company among the largest car makers of the world which did not have a foothold in India. However, with this plant, they are planning to make their presence felt in India and that too in a big way.
