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Mahindra Opens Assembly Plant in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is celebrating its first auto assembly plant, a facility launched by neighboring India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to make KUV100 mini-crossover vehicles from kits.
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Sri Lanka is celebrating its first auto assembly plant, a facility launched by neighboring India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to make KUV100 mini-crossover vehicles from kits.
The $11 million factory is operated by Mahindra Ideal Lanka Ltd. The joint venture is owned 65% by Mahindra and 35% by local distributor Ideal Motors.
Sri Lanka’s annual car market consists of about 36,000 vehicles, 80% of them used. The country’s entire supply of vehicles is imported, with tariffs ranging between 100% and 300%.
Mahindra Ideal has capacity to assemble 5,000 crossovers per year. The venture’s factory is using local suppliers for tires, batteries, seats and exhaust systems to provide roughly 30% local content for the KUV100s it makes. The venture plans to add other models in the future.
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