Pune to get second Daimler plant

German automobile major DaimlerChrysler will set up its second production facility in Maharashtra. The move comes three months after General Motors' decision to invest Rs 1,250 crore for setting up an export-oriented plant in the state.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said DaimlerChrysler would invest around Rs 250 crore in the new plant and was scouting for a suitable location.

According to company sources, DaimlerChrysler was evaluating the industrial park at Chinchwad, where it has a plant, or Chakan or Talegaon in Pune.

"It makes sense to have the second plant in the same location as the first one," sources said. The number of workers in the new plant will be 350, the same as in the old plant.

The company's existing plant has a capacity to produce 2,000 cars a month, which can be doubled once the demand increases.

The new plant might also have the same capacity and was being planned to meet future growth projections in the country, sources said. The company approved the proposal recently.