Autoneum has opened a new plant in Pune, its third in India, in line with  the company’s strategic focus on Asian growth markets.

The series production of carpet systems, interior trim, wheelhouse outer liners, e-motor encapsulations and other noise protection components for local and international vehicle manufacturers has already begun.

The plant in Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra is wholly owned by Autoneum and complements an existing production facility in Behror near New Dehli in the north and a joint venture plant in Chennai in the south of India.

“With the opening of our new plant, Autoneum gains access to the third of the four major automotive production centres in India,” said CEO Eelco Spoelder at the inauguration ceremony in Pune. “By expanding our presence in this strategically important region, we can further strengthen our position in Asia, the world’s largest automotive market.”

The building spans an area of 7,500 square metres and includes state-of-the-art production equipment. The Pune plant will supply both local and international customers with noise-reducing lightweight components for the interiors and exteriors of vehicles of all drive types. It will be the first Autoneum plant in India with the capability to produce Hybrid-Acoustics PET felts for e-motor encapsulation. Components made of Hybrid-Acoustics PET are characterised by their lightweight construction and noise protection that are optimised for electric vehicles. They consist entirely of PET, which is largely obtained from recycled fibres.

As announced in March, Pune is one of two plants that Autoneum is opening this year. A new joint venture plant in Changchun in the northern Chinese province of Jilin will ramp up production of inner dashes, interior floor insulators and other NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) components for European, Japanese and Chinese car manufacturers from the end of 2024. Both new plants in Pune and Changchun have been strategically located for their proximity to important customers. From India, Autoneum supplies European, American, Indian, Japanese and Korean vehicle manufacturers.

www.autoneum.com