We Visit The Hyundai India Plant To See How A Car Is Manufactured

To find out about how a car is manufactured and the process that goes along with it, we recently visited the Hyundai Motor India Limited plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai Tamil Nadu

This is the side that we do not see. Beneath the glamour of a car launch and the coming into the showroom, making a car is a complex process that is a mix of automation and human skill. To find out about how a car is manufactured and the process that goes along with it, we recently visited the Hyundai Motor India Limited plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai Tamil Nadu to witness the new Alcazar being manufactured and talking about the manufacturing side of things with Mr. Gopala Krishnan CS, who is the Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMO) overseeing Production, supply chain and the quality management.

The Hyundai plant is vast and spread over 540 acres with models like the new Alcazar, Creta, Creta N Line, Venue, Venue N Line, Exter, i20, Verna and others being manufactured. The total manufacturing capacity is 824,000 units annually and we got a tour from where the process of making a car starts. To make a modern day car, it takes around 4-4.5 hours roughly and the time has come down over the years.

There are over 300 robots and automation has streamlined the process but there are also a lot of works with stringent quality checks. It all starts from the press shop where the steel coil is processed and cut into various shapes while it moves to the T2 press station and then at the panel inspection station.

Then we came to the bodyshop where the side assembly of the Alcazar is being made. Further, there is the panoramic sunroof station which is fully automated with 7 robots and the welding process is done where the doors, fender and tailgate are added.

In between the bodyshop and of course, the final assembly, the car passes through a paint shop. At the final assembly area, we have the 6 airbags being fitted and the dashboard too plus there is the ADAS Calibration zone where the Level 2 ADAS is integrated. Every line has an exclusive quality gatekeeper who checks and sees if the entire process is done including the road test for the final send off.

Speaking to Mr. Gopala Krishnan CS, he told us that with the new Alcazar there were changes in terms of the retooling and other aspects with this new generation being bigger. He also said that a focus has been on cutting down cost, efficiency and even further streamlining the process including increasing quality levels further.

Also with the digital age, it also about leveraging technology in the manufacturing process. In 1998, the automation was low at 20 percent at bodyshop when Hyundai started while now it is 100 percent and the objective is to increase worker productivity or reduce fatigue for the workers.

However, for assembly, there is still more scope for automation and in the future, it can take the more dangerous or dull jobs while workers still hold some important tasks. Going forward, with electrification looming large, both the upcoming Creta EV and the current Creta are also being built on the same line.

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