The Indian company Motherson Group, on August 31, 2011, laid the cornerstone in the Technological Industrial Development Zone Skopje 1 and announced an investment worth 12 million euros, which was supposed to provide 140 new jobs.
The Indian company, using an area of 2.7 hectares, was to build two production plants which were to produce parts for rearview mirrors. More specifically, one of the facilities was to produce the metal parts for the rearview mirrors, while the second one was intended for the production of glass.
The Prime Minister at the time, Nikola Gruevski, who attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony, said that he was proud that such a company giant as Motherson Group, which was present in around 30 countries and had succeeded at every location, had entered in Macedonia.
In August 2011, the Indian investors also founded a company under the name of SMR Automotive Systems Macedonia DOOEL, with a founding capital of 5 thousand euros. This company is owned by SMR Automotive Mirror Technology Holding Hungary Ltd.
The Government, a few days before ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone, decided to grant the company state aid for both investments, one for producing the external glass for rearview mirros and the other for the production of cast metal parts.
According to reports, the new facilities were to be complete in a year, more specifically by August 2012, but the investment did not materialize.
In 2013, Motherson Group was a part of the election campaign of VMRO DPMNE.
Three years after the cornerstone-laying ceremony, the opposition had accused the Government for granting 2.8 million euros of state aid (a decision that was published in the Annual Report of the Commission for Protection of Competition, page 34) for an investment that was never realised. The Government has denied the claims.
According to the Central Register, the company SMR Automotive Systems Macedonia DOOEL, in 2015, had 66 thousand euros in assets, out of which 52 thousand euros were non-current assets. The company does not have any employees.