Some of the top auto manufacturers across the world have ranked their Indian plants as the highest, with regards to productivity and quality. Companies such as Toyota, Suzuki and Hyundai say that even US and Chinese manufacturing units are not as efficient, despite being much larger in volume. Reportedly, the Indian manufacturing facilities work at a productivity rate that often goes above 98-99 per cent.
Hyundai Motor India has two plants which operate in the Sriperumbudur facility. Interestingly, the second plant, which is newer, ranks number one in terms of productivity and quality. Bo Shin Seo, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for Hyundai Motor India, said this, “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.” Two models of the Korean manufacturer are produced here, at an efficiency of 99.7 per cent or above. However, the Chinese factory for industry produces 4-5 different models, whereas the one in Brazil makes a single model but at a very high productivity ratio.
Japanese manufacturer Toyota Kirloskar Motor also seems to be echoing the same words with respect to its Indian manufacturing abilities. 4700 crore has been invested to make two plants in Bangalore. Commenting on the same, Shekar Vishwanathan, Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “We make 600 vehicles per day over two shifts. 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.” He further added that as per internal shipping quality audits conducted randomly by global teams, the India plants stand right up there along side Toyota's China and Thailand facilities.
If one considers the position of the top passenger vehicle manufacturer in India, the situation is not very different. Maruti Suzuki India Limited already earns 25 per cent of Suzuki's global revenue and now, this may increase further with the Manesar plant. Maruti's domestic sales are higher than Suzuki's sales on Japanese home turf. With this degree of efficiency, there is no doubt that Indian auto manufacturers are surely on the road to success through efficient planning and hard work, which would pay rich dividends once the market looks up.
