BMW 2009 Annual Report Download - page 211

35
Topic two India
December 10, 2009 — 7 — 30 a.m.
Mahindra World City, Chennai
Early in the morning, when the working day begins,
dragonflies flit through the air and it is still pleasantly cool
in “Mahindra World City”. At this campus-like business
park south of Chennai, 123 BMW employees assembled
about 2,600 vehicles last year. To meet specific demand
from the Indian retail network, parts are ordered in Ger-
many, packed into containers at the plant in Wackersdorf
and transported to Bremerhaven for shipping. 30 days
later a truck delivers the parts from Chennai harbour to
the plant – and assembly can begin.
Adapting BMW vehicles to Indian road conditions and
lower-quality petrol means modifying injection pumps,
reinforcing under bodies and raising the wheelbase by
18 millimetres. “Other than that,” explains Dr. Dhimant
Desai, the plant’s quality manager, “our vehicles are no
different to BMWs built in Dingolfing or Spartanburg.
After all, Indian customers expect 100 % BMW quality.”
Assembly workers – most of whom are Indian, and
who have all completed engineering courses – are highly
motivated and extremely
well qualified. “There is one
challenge, though,” explains plant manager Jürgen Eder,
“the climate here. In the weeks before the monsoon,
temperatures in the halls can reach 37 degrees Celsius.”