The plant is also reducing its energy use and aims to save around 20,000 MWh by 2023.

Volvo has announced that its Torslanda factory in Sweden has become its first car manufacturing plant to reach climate neutral status.

Torslanda is the second plant in Volvo's manufacturing network to achieve this status. In 2018, the Skovde engine plant in Sweden had become climate neutral.

A Volvo Cars factory is considered fully climate neutral when it registers no net increase in the emission of greenhouse gases as a result of the electricity and heating used by the plant.

The Torsland plant has been powered by climate neutral electricity since 2008. It now has climate neutral heating. Half of the plant’s heating comes from biogas, while the rest is sourced from district heating through industrial waste heat. The plant is also reducing its energy use and aims to save around 20,000 MWh by 2023.

Hyundai has also decided to suspend operations for a week.

According to media reports, Renault-Nissan has decided to shut down its manufacturing plant near Chennai from May 26 to May 30, 2021, due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

The news comes a day after factory workers warned of a strike if their Covid-related safety demands were not met. Earlier, the workers had also filed a petition in the court to halt operations alleging that Covid-19 protocols were being flouted and that the health policies offered by the company were insufficient.

The Renault-Nissan plant employs over 8,000 workers. According to the union, 4 workers have lost their lives and more than 400 have been infected by the virus this year.

Amidst rising Covid-19 cases in the state of Tamil Nadu, Hyundai has also decided to suspend operations for a week.

Source: MSN

More than 300 plant workers have reportedly tested positive and about 7-8 employees have lost their lives.

According to a media report, Hyundai will suspend operations at its Chennai unit for a week due to rising Covid-19 cases within the premises.

It is said that workers have been raising their demand to shut down plant operations for five days as Covid-19 cases are on the rise. On Monday, the first shift even refused to work on the shop floor after more than 300 workers had reportedly tested positive and about 7-8 employees had lost their lives over the past few days.

Initially, Hyundai plans to temporarily suspend plant operations for a period of 5 days, between May 25 to May 29, 2021.

The Hyundai plant near Chennai employs close to 2,000 workers. The plant operates in three shifts and has been running at full capacity due to high demand.

Source: ET Auto

MG's production is likely to be hit by at least 20-30% in April 2021.

MG Motor has announced that its manufacturing plant in Halol, Gujarat will be shut down for a week, from April 29 to May 5, 2021. The decision has been taken due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases and a shortage of parts.

The supply chain has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 restrictions in Maharashtra and Delhi-NCR at a time when the company was already facing a parts shortage. As a result, production is likely to be hit by at least 20-30% in April.

The carmaker has requested its suppliers to build their inventory to support production when it resumes.

Earlier this month, Toyota had also announced a temporary shutdown of its Bidadi plant. During the 3 week-long shutdown, the company will be undertaking maintenance.

Source: ET Auto

The shutdown will not affect CBU models as well as Maruti-sourced models like the Glanza and Urban Cruiser.

Toyota has announced that it will temporarily halt production at its Bidadi factory for maintenance from April 26 to May 14, 2021. The shutdown will not affect CBU models as well as Maruti-sourced models like the Glanza and Urban Cruiser. Also, vehicle servicing operations will continue to function normally.

As part of Covid-19 protocols, only a limited number of employees are allowed inside the factory for essential jobs and activities. They will adhere to social distancing & other mandatory guidelines. The management will also use this time to further enhance COVID-19 protection measures.

Official statement:

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has announced its scheduled annual maintenance program across both its plants from 26th April to 14th May, 2021. Periodic maintenance of plant and machinery is a standard operating procedure to enhance the competitiveness of the plants, such as operational efficiencies, productivity and safety of equipment, from time-to-time basis.  

During this period, operations at both the Toyota factories in Bidadi will witness a temporary halt, impacting supply of vehicles produced at its plants. The company will use the pipeline finished goods inventory to serve the pending & immediate requirements of its customers so as to ensure minimal discomfort to them. However, any inconvenience thus caused to customers due to this temporary shut-down is regretted and the company along with its dealer partners will ensure that best efforts are made to mitigate such issues. This shutdown will have no impact on the supply of other models such as the Glanza, the Urban Cruiser, imported vehicle models as well as vehicle servicing operations.

Only limited number of employees as permissible by the rules of social distancing & other mandatory guidelines will be engaged in essential jobs & activities at the plant.  The management will also use this time to further enhance modern COVID-19 protection measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its people. Toyota in India, has its manufacturing unit based in Bidadi near Bangalore. Spread across 432 acres of land, Plant I has a capacity of Up to 1,00,000 units & Plant II with a capacity of up to 2,10,000 units, annually.

Factories will remain shut for four days in a staggered manner between April 22 – May 1, 2021.

Hero MotoCorp has decided to temporarily halt operations at all of its manufacturing plants across India, including the Global Parts Centre (GPC), in view of the rising Covid-19 cases in the country.

All manufacturing units and the GPC will remain shut for four days in a staggered manner between April 22 – May 1, 2021, depending on the local situation.

The company has stated that the necessary maintenance work will be carried out at all manufacturing plants during this shutdown. The company claims that the shutdown will not impact its ability to meet demand, which has already been affected by localized shutdowns in many states. The production loss will be compensated during the remainder of the quarter.

All plants will resume normal operations post this short shutdown period. All corporate offices of the company are already in Work from Home (WFH) mode and a limited number of employees are in offices on a rotation basis for the continuity of essential services.

Suzuki Motor's new unit (Plant C) has an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units. The Ahmedabad facility now has a total annual capacity of 7.5 lakh units.

Maruti Suzuki has announced that Suzuki Motor has finished the construction of the third plant at its Ahmedabad manufacturing facility and started production from April 2021.

The new unit (Plant C) has an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units. The Ahmedabad facility now has a total annual capacity of 7.5 lakh units. All the vehicles manufactured at this facility will be supplied to Maruti Suzuki. Plant A and Plant B had started operations in February 2017 and January 2019 respectively. In October 2020, Suzuki Motor achieved a total production of 10 lakh units.

Maruti Suzuki has an annual production capacity of 15 lakh units. Suzuki Motor’s Ahmedabad facility adds another 7.5 lakh units taking Suzuki’s total production capacity in India to 22.5 lakh units.

Source: ET Auto

Spread over 500 acres, it will have an initial capacity of 2 million units per year in the Phase 1 alone.

Ola has announced that construction on its 2-wheeler factory has commenced and that the first phase of production is expected to begin in the next few months.

In December 2020, the company had signed a Rs. 2,400 crore MoU with the Tamil Nadu government. An estimated more than 10 million man-hours have been planned to bring the factory up in record time.

Once complete, the 2-wheeler mega-factory will be the world's largest. Spread over 500 acres, it will have an initial capacity of 2 million units per year in the Phase 1 alone.

It will become the global manufacturing hub for Ola's range of electric scooters and 2-wheelers and besides India, it will serve international markets including Europe, UK, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

The factory is expected to create 10,000 jobs. It will incorporate Industry 4.0 principles, and will be powered by Ola’s own proprietary AI Engine and tech stack that will be integrated into all its systems. The factory is also expected to be the country’s most automated, with about 5,000 robots and automated guided vehicles.

The company will ensure the conservation of the green belt in the area by preserving and transplanting the trees on site. It plans to have a large forest area within the site and reuse the excavated soil and rocks within the factory.

Ola plans to launch its range of electric scooters in the coming months.

Tesla is expected to make its debut in the Indian market with the Model 3.

The chief minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa has stated that Tesla will set up an electric car manufacturing plant in the state.

Last month, the US-based EV maker set up its Indian subsidiary called Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt. Ltd. The registered office is located at Lavelle Road, Bangalore. Vaibhav Taneja, Venkatrangam Sreeram, and David Feinstein have been appointed as the directors of the company. Tesla also plans to set up an R&D centre in Bangalore.

Tesla is expected to make its debut in the Indian market with the Model 3. The electric car could be launched by the end of the first quarter of FY2021-22. 

The Model 3 has a range of 354-523 km depending on the variant and a 0-97 km/h time between 3.1-5.6 seconds. The car is offered in single and dual motor configurations.

It is estimated that Ford's production for both domestic and export markets could be down by 50%.

Ford India has reportedly been hit with a semiconductor chip shortage. This has forced the management to shut down the Maraimalai Nagar factory near Chennai.

The Ford assembly line was shut down on January 14 for a 3-day period on the occasion of Pongal. The plant closure was later extended up to January 24. It has been reported that the semiconductor chip shortage is a serious issue and that Ford is trying to address it.

The report also suggests that production at both the Chennai and Sanand plants will be impacted for the entire quarter. It is estimated that Ford's production for both domestic and export markets could be down by 50%. In December, Ford produced 7,000 vehicles and during the period of April-December the company built 65,000 units.

Source: ET Auto