DaimlerChrysler is building a new US$67m factory in the western India state of Maharashtra, employing 350 people initially.


Joachim Schmidt, chairman of DaimlerChrysler India Pvt, said that DC, which currently assembles the E-class, C-class and S-class models in Pune, also in Maharashtra, will shift all its existing operations to the new location. Tata owns the land on which the current factory stands.


DaimlerChrysler sold 2,121 cars in India in 2006, 11% more than a year earlier. The new factory will be located on a plot of 100 acres, triple the area of the existing unit. One-third of the land will be used for the new facility and the remainder will be kept for expansion, according to Bloomberg News.