Toyoda Gosei Opens Airbag Production Facility in India

Car safety regulations are set to become increasingly stricter in the Indian auto market. From October 2017, offset and side crash tests will become mandatory from October and these tests will be standard for all models from 2019. Pedestrian safety will also become mandatory for new models in 2018 and for all models by 2020.

In order to meet the growing demand for components like airbags, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. is opening a new plant for airbags in the Indian state of Gujarat. The new factory has been set up by Toyoda Gosei Minda India Private Limited (TGMIN), a subsidiary of Toyoda Gosei. The new factory is meant to produce and supply airbags, weatherstrips and other automotive components to Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG) by the second half of fiscal 2018 and once its capacity has been ramped up, will be employing around 330 people  by March 2021).

Toyoda Gosei has invested 10.1 million euros (Rs. 732 million in the new plant. With the addition of the new plant, Toyoda Gosei now has a manufacturing footprint of five factories spread across India. Last year, the company’s total sales in India amounted to approximately JPY 14 billion (EUR 112 million), and with the addition of this new factory, the company is planning to increase this 1.4-fold to approximately JPY 20 billion by 2021 (EUR 160 million).

About 75-80 percent of the production of the new plant will be supplied to the Suzuki Motor Group, while the balance production will be supplied to other major automotive manufacturers like Honda and Toyota. Initially, the plant will have the capacity to cater to requirements of 250,000 vehicles on an annual basis and this will be doubled when it becomes fully operational.