Mahindra’s Chakan plant has completed the production of 30 lakh vehicles and the special thing is that the company has produced the last 10 lakh vehicles in just 27 months.
Mahindra & Mahindra has achieved a major achievement. The 30 lakhth vehicle has been completed from the company’s Chakan plant located near Pune. The Mahindra BE 6 is the 30 lakhth vehicle rolled out from this plant which started in December 2009. This achievement also shows Mahindra’s increasing focus on electric vehicles. The company said that the pace of production has increased significantly in the last few years.
It took 107 months to manufacture the first 10 lakh vehicles, whereas the last 10 lakh vehicles have been manufactured in only 27 months. This reflects Mahindra’s growing production capacity and strong demand for its SUV portfolio. The Chakan plant spread over 657 acres is the major manufacturing hub of Mahindra. Passenger vehicles, electric vehicles and commercial vehicles are manufactured here.
At present, 19 models and more than 450 variants are manufactured in this plant. Here vehicles with different platforms and powertrains can be produced at one place. Due to the increasing demand for Mahindra’s SUVs like Scorpio N, Thar, XUV 3XO, XUV700, BE 6 and XEV 9e, the pace of production at this plant has increased significantly. The company says that there is good demand for these vehicles in the domestic market as well as in the export markets.
Modern technologies are also being used on a large scale in the Chakan plant. Here technologies like Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G connectivity and digital traceability have been incorporated in the production process. About 1,500 robots work in the plant and there is more than 98 percent automation in the body shop. Apart from this, robotic painting, automated sealant application, real-time weld monitoring, 3D component scanning and “No Fault Forward” quality system are also used.
Another specialty of this Mahindra plant is its multi-model production capacity. There are 7 assembly lines on which vehicles with different platforms and powertrains can be produced simultaneously. At the same time, autonomous mobile robots are used for movement of goods inside the factory and AI based monitoring systems are used to ensure the safety of employees.
Mahindra’s Chakan plant is also far ahead in terms of environment. More than half of the company’s electricity needs are met from renewable energy, whereas the electric vehicles here are produced entirely from renewable energy. This plant has also received ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ certificate. Additionally, it returns more water back to nature than it uses. Apart from this, about 9.91 lakh kiloliters of rain water is also conserved here every year.
Mahindra’s Chakan plant is also an important center of the company’s export business. The vehicles manufactured here are exported to many countries including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This plant will play an important role in Mahindra’s new vehicles and global expansion strategy in the coming years also.
