Market Developments
Gateway to South India is also Detroit of South Asia
Half of India’s auto components are manufactured in Chennai, which also produces nearly a third of the vehicles made in the country.
Chennai is the Detroit of South Asia. Nearly all the big names in the automobile business have a presence there – General Motors, Ford, Daimler, Chrysler, BMW, Volvo, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi.
With a middle class growing fast on the back of a booming economy in Asia, the most populous region on earth, demand for cars is tipped to explode. Automobile makers are already rushing to expand production, scrambling to put up their plants, because competition is going to be stiff.
It’s clear that Chennai, once known as Madras, has an edge in the automobile industry. The city accounts for a major chunk of the country’s production. Half of India’s auto components are manufactured in Chennai, which also produces nearly a third of the vehicles made in the country.
Once a fishing village, Chennai today makes not just cars but also heavy vehicles like tanks and railway coaches. Says Ramakrishna Kukkila , International Enterprise Singapore’s centre director in Chennai: “Tamil Naidu (led by Chennai) has always enjoyed the status of ‘The Leader’ in the automotive and auto component sectors.”
One of the city’s strengths as a hub for the automobile industry is its large pool of OEM producers whose customers include General Motors, Daimler, Chrysler and BMW. Indeed, Chennai is leader for outsourced jobs from the West.
Reported by Danny Chow.