Mercedes-Benz India — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany’s Daimler AG — will ship its best-selling vehicle, the GLC compact crossover, from India to the company’s U.S. subsidiary. Built at the automaker’s plant in Pune, in the western state of Maharashtra, the vehicles will arrive in the U.S. in October, Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. spokesman Rob Moran confirmed.”The SUV GLC is in great demand worldwide,” Moran said. “Therefore, Mercedes-Benz uses the capacities of its global production network on four continents. This also includes the Mercedes-Benz plant in Pune.”
Mercedes’ move could turn the spotlight onto India’s auto manufacturing potential, predicts Brian Johnson, managing director at Barclays Capital. “It will help establish supply chain and production infrastructure that can meet North American and European quality standards,” he said.
At Ford’s Indian subsidiary, exports and not domestic sales, are driving production volumes. “Export is one of the key pillars,” Anurag Mehrotra, president and managing director at Ford India, told the Indian newspaper Business Standard. “It gives us economies of scale allowing us to bring more features at competitive costs for the Indian market.”
“It’s very possible that there could be more capacity development for light vehicles in India,” said Richard Hilgert, senior equity analyst for Morningstar. “With the increase in capacity, there could be opportunities for export.”
The move could also help automakers hedge against trade troubles around the world.
