Leading South Korean steelmaker POSCO Holdings is considering building an integrated steel plant in India to meet growing demand from the country's auto industry, according to local reports.
Posco currently has a steel rolling joint venture, Posco Maharashtra Steel, located near Pune, which supplies 1.8 million tons of steel annually, mainly to the automotive industry.
Produces cold rolled steel sheets imported from South Korea. The company also has five steel processing facilities in major cities in India.
Posco currently supplies steel to Indian outposts of global automakers such as Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Nissan, Skoda and Volkswagen, as well as local automakers Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahrinda. The company recently added Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest automaker, to its customer list.
Global electric vehicle (EV) makers such as Tesla are also eyeing India after the government set a goal of EV sales at 30% of total passenger car sales by 2030.
Posco said it expects the local integrated steel plant to allow it to offer its products to automakers at lower prices.
Han Tae-soo, head of Posco India Chennai Corporation, recently told reporters in South Korea that “orders for steel sheets are pouring in as automakers ramp up production in India as part of the country's Make in India initiative. We are very busy processing requests from many customers.”
The Make in India program aims to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub by offering incentives to companies investing in manufacturing.
Posco is hoping to get more government support for the project after its previous attempt to build a steel plant nearly two decades ago fell through due to strong opposition from local residents.
