Hella is building its second electronics plant near the city of Mehsana in the state of Gujarat. It recently opened an additional development centre for automotive lighting technology in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore.
"The investments serve to increase Hella's presence in one of the fastest growing automotive markets in the world", said CEO Rolf Breidenbach. "This will enable us to meet the growing demand for lighting and electronics products even better while providing custom made products for the Indian market."
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Naveen Gautam, managing director of Hella India added: "The expansion is a clear commitment of Hella to the Indian market and its trust in local opportunities. With the new automotive trends, especially for e-mobility, we expect increasing demand for our products."
The additional electronics plant allows Hella increasing proximity to important customers, especially in the west and south of India. The region is considered as an up and coming economic location with increasing significance for the automotive industry. The plant opening is expected early in 2019.
During the first expansion phase, the location will comprise a production surface of roughly 4,000 sq m and employ about 100 persons. Investments for this first phase will total approximately EUR5m (US$5.84m). Initially, the plant will mostly produce accelerator pedal sensors for the domestic market. During the second phase, other products are planned.
Complementing the existing lighting development site in Chennai, Hella has, in the summer of 2017, additionally opened a new development centre for automotive lighting technology in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore. The new location focuses primarily on developing headlamps, rear combination lamps, lighting modules and lighting electronics. The development team in Coimbatore is anticipated to increase to more than 200 employees over the coming years.
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By GlobalDataHella has already been present in India since the 1980s. Currently, the company employs more than 1,700 persons at a total of six locations.
