The new manufacturing plant was completed in a record 2 years time and the initial capacity of BSVI engine is about 2 lakh units annually
Groupe PSA and the CK Birla Group inaugurated their new Greenfield plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu and it will manufacture and supply engines for both domestic and international markets. The initial manufacturing capacity of the plant is about 3,00,000 units per year for the transmissions and 2,00,000 units of BSVI complaint engines.
The plant has been completed in a record time of fewer than two years and in phase 1, the company is going to manufacture gearbox for India project as well as supplying Group PSA needs. The company has invested more than Rs. 600 crore to set up the plant and it will generate a direct employment of around 800 people.
To reduce cost, the company is planning to increase localization of parts and the new plant is owned by PSA AVTEC Powertrain Pvt. Ltd, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Groupe PSA and AVTEC created in 2017. The first model coming from Groupe PSA is expected to be the Citroen C5 Aircross and it is going to be a rival for the Jeep Compass.
The C5 Aircross made its global debut last year and it is the production version of the C5 Aircross concept. The SUV is based on the EMP2 platform, which also underpins DS8 Crossback along with other models from the brand. The stand out feature of C5 Aircross is going to be its quirky design theme, which looks different from other models.
The company has given split headlamps set-up in which LED DRLs are placed on top and the LED headlamps are positioned below it. The C5 Aircross comes with black plastic cladding running across the body and the bumper get colour inserts. The side gets air-bump and flared wheel arches to continue the SUV look.
The rear gets LED tail lamps and dual exhaust for a sporty touch. The interior is modern with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with lots of functions and an 8-inch touch screen unit with connectivity options like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The SUV is expected to be powered by both petrol and diesel engines with an automatic and manual transmission.