Airbus shortlists 8 sites for its second India assembly line
Airbus has shortlisted eight sites in India to open its second assembly line in the country in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), weeks ahead of the inauguration of the first, which is for the C295 transport plane.
The second plant will make the H125 and will be the fourth for the single-engine helicopter after factories in France, Brazil and the US. It will produce around 10 helicopters a year with the first of these debuting in early 2026. Airbus expects the Indian subcontinent excluding Pakistan to be a market for about 500 such helicopters over the next 20 years. The H125 starts at a list price of '30 crore.
«The FAL (final assembly line) in India will not only make us competitive in terms of lead time, delivery time, it will also help us address the growth of the Indian market and possibly the demand from neighbouring nations,» Olivier Michalon, executive vice president, global business, Airbus Helicopters, told reporters in the French city, location of the helicopter's first assembly line. He expects the model to be as successful in India as the Airbus A320 is with the country's airlines. «H125 is our A320,» he said.
The new India facility will be along the lines of the one in France and will get most of the major subsystems including the engine from France, Germany and Spain. Airbus did not say how much will be invested in the facility or the number of people it will employ. The Brazilian facility produces about 10 helicopters and employs around 500 but also has additional units.
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