Hyundai Motor India Limited has recently held a board meeting in which it appointed new leadership, and approved a Rs 694 crore investment for a Tooling Centre. The proposed Tooling Centre will manufacture stamping tools and vehicle panels, which advances Hyundai's local production capabilities and supply chain stability.
This investment represents Hyundai's commitment to developing a wider manufacturing "footprint" in India. Tooling means the equipment, molds, dies, jigs, fixtures and cutting tools that are required for producing automotive parts and components. Tooling also allows for mass production with a quality assured and a level of accuracy commensurate with the tolerances required in modern vehicles.
China is dominant in tooling due to its vast manufacturing infrastructure investment, cheap labor consent costs, and structured government incentives. China has developed an extensive manufacturing ecosystem that provides a scale and speed of manufacture unparalleled in the world. India is far behind China, the USA, and Germany in tooling capabilities. While there is a relevant manufacturing base developing in India, there are significant limitations with infrastructure, supply chain fragmentation, and a lack of technical skills.
India, unlike China’s cohesiveness in industrial policy, or Germany’s heritage in precision manufacturing, has not yet developed tooling mechanisms generally; however, the direct and targeted investments activities, and the investment in skills brought by more recent provincial "Make in India" initiatives, may provide some opportunity to address these challenges.
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...
