Magneti Marelli Opens Indian Plant to Produce Automated Manuals

January 7, 2016

Ryan Gehm

Magneti Marelli’s new facility near New Delhi will have a production capacity of 280,000 robotized gearbox kits per year.

Magneti Marelli, through its Magneti Marelli Powertrain India Private Ltd. joint venture with Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki Motor Co., recently inaugurated a new industrial site for the production of automated manual transmissions (AMTs) for automobiles. The plant is located in Manesar, near New Delhi, in the same area where the company produces powertrain electronic control units (ECUs). The new 7500-m² (80,700-ft²) facility houses the production lines and offices, and will employ approximately 115 people when fully operational. It will have a production capacity of 280,000 robotized gearbox kits per year. Magneti Marelli says the facility was built to address the growing market success of AMTs in India over the past two years and to meet the demand from local automakers for future implementations. The Maruti Celerio, Maruti Alto, Tata Nano, and Tata Zest are examples of cars already equipped with the company’s AMT.

The technology is based on the use of an ECU combined with an electro-hydraulic system that controls the use of the clutch when changing gears, allowing the driver to shift gears without the use of the clutch, either sequentially or in a fully automatic way. The electronic optimization of the ATM gearbox results in reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to standard automatic and manual transmissions, the company claims.