“Daikin has a very clear strategic intent to enhance its air conditioning, air filtrations, and refrigeration portfolio, for which India has been identified as a developmental hub,” said Daikin India’s Managing Director.
Japanese multinational air conditioning manufacturer, Daikin will invest about ₹1,000 crore in seting up a plant in India. Thus, it becomes the first company to acquire land for a new unit under the recently-introduced production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods.
Daikin India completed the purchase agreement for a 75-acre land at Andhra Pradesh’s Sri City. The company plans to set up a huge air-conditioner (AC) manufacturing plant in phases. The first investment instalment is expected to be of ₹1,000 crore. The AC plant is expected to be fully functional in 2023. It is expected to be a huge job creating deal for the state and also be a great pump in our push for Make in India as It plans to serve both domestic and international markets. The total capacity of the plant is 1.5 million units per year.
“Daikin wants to make India its manufacturing hub to serve markets such as West Asia, Sri Lanka, South America, and Africa,” said the company in a statement, adding that the new plant would be under the PLI scheme, introduced by the Government of India last year.
AC components will also be manufactured in India, along with finished ACs. The government of India is aggressively pushing for AC parts manufacturing, since a majority of them come from China.
Daikin India’s chairman and MD, Kanwal Jeet Jawa recently said, “For the AC segment, as a strategy, we are increasing our focus on markets that are witnessing rapid growth. India is the fastest-growing market for us. Daikin has a very clear strategic intent to enhance its air conditioning, air filtrations, and refrigeration portfolio, for which India has been identified as a developmental hub.” He also added that India has the ability to become Daikin’s offshore delivery centre for R&D and exports.
Sources from the industry confirm that Daikin India has already invested more than ₹2,000 crore in setting up two factories and a R&D units at Rajasthan’s Neemrana.