Boeing signals more orders needed before setting up assembly line in India

Boeing signalled on Monday it would need more orders from India before it considers setting up a final civil aircraft assembly line there, potentially throwing cold water on the government's hopes of the U.S. planemaker assembling commercial jets in the country. "The business case in order to have final assembly in any region has to be far larger than what the Indian market is. It requires many more airplanes than are being bought in India today," Boeing India and South Asia president Salil Gupte told Reuters. "We'll have to see how it evolves as the markets in India and around India go. In the meantime, it is all about building stepwise capability to get up to that point," Gupte said in an interview on the sidelines of the Aero India show in the city of Bengaluru. Boeing said in an emailed statement it has a "strong commitment" to India's aerospace sector. The company has in the past offered to assemble defense aircraft, such as its F/A-18 jets, in India. But the volume required for final assembly of commercial airplanes is far greater than that required for defense, and a viable business case would require a large regional market, the company added. Early last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will not have to wait too long for a Boeing that is designed and manufactured in the subcontinent. The country's civil aviation minister told Reuters in 2023 that the time had come for Boeing and Airbus to make civil aircraft in India.<br/>