Delphi begins construction of new electronics facility in Chennai

Chennai: Delphi India, the a wholly owned subsidiary of US auto parts supplier Delphi Corporation said it had started construction of a new electronics manufacturing facility in Chennai.

Delphi will invest close to Rs250 crore in the new Chennai plant, which is planned to be built in three phases and is expected to be operational toward the end of 2009, and enable the Indian subsidiary to expand its product portfolio and manufacturing footprint to more effectively meet the needs of the growing automotive market in India.

"The Indian small car segment volume is expected to triple in the next five years and continue strong growth after that," said Delphi Asia Pacific president Jeff Owens who is also president Delphi electronics and safety.

Owens said India was a key market for Delphi and with new technologies becoming a reality every day, "Delphi believes that providing a range of safety and electronics products will be the way forward in the Indian automobile industry".

Ashok B. Ramaswamy, president and managing director, Delphi India, said, "Chennai is a hub for both the auto and the electronics industries and several major automotive OEMs are based here. Our new plant in Chennai extends the Electronics and Safety manufacturing footprint to India and increases the Delphi local product portfolio to meet market needs."

From this 10-acre site, Delphi can manufacture products in the areas of controls and security, safety, and entertainment and communications. In phase one, the plant will produce immobilizers, body computers, instrument clusters and driver information systems, followed by safety and entertainment products.