Volkswagen Pune plant celebrates fifth anniversary

Volkswagen India’s manufacturing plant in Pune turned five on March 31, 2014. Since the time of its inauguration back in 2009, the production facility has rolled out more than 3,67,000 cars. The Pune plant also serves as the headquarters for the Volkswagen Group in India.The manufacturing plant houses the entire automotive manufacturing process from press shop, body shop, paint shop and final assembly line.

The Chakan facility has adopted an eco-friendly Think Blue. Factory. initiative with a target of reducing the impact on environment due to manufacturing processes by 25 per cent. This initiative helps in reducing energy consumption, water consumption, CO2 emissions, waste generation and also volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

Mahesh Kodumudi, Chief Representative, Volkswagen Group India and President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, says, “The Volkswagen Pune Plant is one of the most modern car production facilities in India. With the inauguration of Pune Plant, Volkswagen not only brought 'German Engineering made by Volkswagen in India' to the Indian Subcontinent, but also kicked off the production of car models for the volume segments in India. And we are not only producing cars with highest quality for the domestic market in India; we are also currently exporting our Volkswagen Polo and Vento models to more than 30 countries across three continents. This is clear proof of the high standards we have achieved at our Pune Plant over the past five years.” 

Construction of this 575 acre facility began in 2007, with an initial investment of Rs 3,800 crore. The plant was built within 17 months, a record time across all Volkswagen manufacturing facilities worldwide. Production at this plant began in May 2009 starting with cars such as Fabia, which was then followed by the Polo, Vento and Rapid.