A team of French automobile manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen met Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar on Thursday.
They discussed possibilities of setting up a car manufacturing plant in the state. The team, however, clarified that they are considering two more states for their plant and are yet to finalise the location.
The delegation, comprising Gregoire Olivier, Asia CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fredric Faber, MD, Peugeot India, met the CM at his official residence on Thursday afternoon.
During their meeting, Peugeot officials appreciated the rapid industrial growth in Gujarat. They acknowledged that the state was emerging as an automobile industry hub.
Gregoire Olivier told Modi that they were in talks with three states viz. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for setting up PSU Peugeot Citroen’s first plant in India. He clarified that the company had not taken a final decision about the location of their proposed plant yet.
“A decision about the plant’s location will be taken in a few months,” he said.
According to officials, Peugeot plans to invest around Rs4,000 crore for setting up a plant with a capacity to produce upto 3 lakh units a year.
Modi apprised them about large investments flowing into the state in various sectors, including the automobile segment. He invited them to set up their plant in the state and assured them government support if they decided to come to Gujarat.
Also present at the meeting were industries minister Saurabh Patel and other senior government officials.
Speaking to reporters, Jitesh Gadhia, senior MD of Blackstone Advisory Partners and a member of the Peugeot delegation, described the meeting with the CM as a constructive one. He too reiterated that a decision about the plant’s location was yet to be taken.
“Peugeot is in active discussions with three states and a final decision will be taken shortly,” said Gadhia.
When asked about Tamil Nadu government’s announcement that Peugeot had finalised a location near Sriperambudur, Gadhia said they were not aware as to how the announcement was made.
PSA Peugeot Citroen is the second largest automaker in Europe and the sixth largest in the world.
If Peugeot eventually decides to set up a plant in Gujarat, it will be a big boost to the state’s ambitions to emerge as an automobile manufacturing hub.
The state is already home to two car manufacturers, Tata Motors and General Motors with Maruti Suzuki and Ford strongly considering it for setting up a manufacturing base here.
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