Daimlerchrysler Building Second India Plant

German-U.S. auto giant DaimlerChrysler started construction of its second plant in India recently to boost its capacity in the booming market. Production at the plant with an investment of 2.75B rupees ($67M) in western Pune city is likely to begin in 2009, the company said in a statement. DaimlerChrysler has been active in India since 1994. It builds more than 2,000 of its C, E and S-Class Mercedes cars at its existing plant in Pune, in Maharashtra state, each year. Last year the company sold over 2,000 vehicles and sales grew by 17% in the 1st-Q 2007. India is one of the fastest-growing car markets, with auto sales growing more than 14% in the 11 months ended February.