Mumbai: After the Tatas, the Mahindras have also
begun to invest in R&D and safety in India. The
company is planning to invest about $100 million (around
Rs430 crore) in putting up a dedicated facility, near
Chennai where the entire research and development work
of the company will be carried out.
At
present the company has a number of R&D centers
scattered all over the country.
According to an official from the company, "The
entire R&D efforts of the company will done under
one roof, instead of having them scattered at various
locations," he said.
The
new research facility would have facilities such as
test track, crash facility, engine and polymer labs
and engine research departments and all under one roof
which would give the company greater synergy, and make
the whole process effective and fast.
He
said the company would need to recruit about 1500 engineers
to work on the project. The facility would be set up
in about two years.
At
present there are two test agencies in India —
ARAI and VRDE, in the western region. VRDE is operated
by the army, while the former is used by Indian automotive
companies. These agencies
undertake almost all the testing and certification workload
in the country. Tata Motors has its own R&D center
and crash facility.
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