Japan’s top mini-car maker, Suzuki Motor Corp, is to build a new auto assembly plant near the Indian capital New Delhi in a bid to meet growing demand in the country, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, a local subsidiary of Suzuki, plans to construct the new plant in Manesar near its assembly base, with operation scheduled to begin in 2013, the Nikkei Shimbun said, quoting company sources.
The plant, its third in Manesar, will be built at a cost of ¥30 billion (US$356 million) with an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles, boosting Suzuki’s annual production in India to 1.7 million units, the daily said.
Suzuki in 2007 launched an assembly plant in Manesar with an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Suzuki, which was one of the earliest foreign entrants into India’s auto market, has built a dominant position there, and now boasts a market share of nearly 50 percent, the newspaper said.
The second plant is not scheduled to come on stream until spring 2012, but surging demand in India prompted Suzuki managers to order a third site ahead of the launch of the second, the paper said.
Popular subcompact models such as the Alto and Wagon R will likely be produced at the third facility, it added.
Nearly two-thirds of Suzuki’s group operating profit is estimated to come from India.
The latest move is designed to strengthen its lead in the key market and allow the company to use the profit earned there to expand operations in other markets. such as Europe and the rest of Asia, the Nikkei said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
GRAFT PROBE: Critics questioned Ko claiming he did not know about the Core Pacific floor area ratio issue until this year, citing a 2021 video in which he was asked about it Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released without bail early yesterday, while his deputy during his tenure as Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado after being questioned since Friday over graft allegations related to a shopping center redevelopment project. Prosecutors on Saturday filed a request with the Taipei District Court to officially detain Ko and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) over allegations surrounding the redevelopment of Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心). The court yesterday determined that the evidence provided by prosecutors was insufficient to justify the detention of Ko and ordered his