Tata Motors to set up manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, invest Rs 9,000 cr

Automaker's plan spreads over 5 years, expected to create more than 5,000 jobs

Tata Motors on Wednesday signed a pact with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a vehicle manufacturing plant in Ranipet near Vellore with an investment of Rs 9,000 crore.

The investment, over a period of five years, is expected to create over 5,000 jobs, a state government statement said.

This comes at a time when the company is planning to split its passenger and commercial vehicles businesses into two listed companies. Trucks and buses along with related investments will be housed in one entity, while the second company will include passenger cars, electric vehicles (EVs), and Jaguar Land Rover. 
 

 

This is the second major automobile-related investment in the state in almost two months.

Vietnam-based EV player VinFast, a rival of Tesla in the global market, started work on building its Rs 16,000 crore EV manufacturing facility at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.

The company’s move is seen as an attempt to expand its manufacturing footprint in South India. The company has manufacturing plants at Dharwad (Karnataka), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), and Sanand (Gujarat).

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“Over the past couple of years, Tamil Nadu has hit the fast lane and become the ultimate hub for investments,” said state Industries Minister T R B Rajaa. “We are not just building factories, we’re engineering dreams and accelerating towards a brighter, more prosperous future,” he said.

Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), teams from Guidance, Tamil Nadu's nodal agency for investment promotion and facilitation, and Tata Motors will work together to take this opportunity forward, the company said in a statement. The MoU was exchanged between Guidance Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer V Vishnu and Tata Motors Group Chief Financial Officer P B Balaji in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin.

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According to the state government, the agreement with Tata Motors is a key step towards enhancing industrial development in Tamil Nadu. Rajaa said this was for the first time that the government had attracted two mega investments in automobile manufacturing, within a span of two months. Since the Stalin government took charge in 2021, the state government claims to have garnered investments of around Rs 8.65 trillion till February and around 3 million jobs.

VinFast’s Thoothukudi project aims to evolve into a first-class EV production hub in the region, with an annual capacity of up to 150,000 units. During the first phase, VinFast may invest around Rs 4,000 crore and create 10,000 jobs.

The state also became the hub of electronic exports in India with its value touching $7.37 billion, 32.52 per cent of India’s total export of electronic system design and manufacturing goods of $22.65 billion, from April to January in the current financial year. According to government sources, the China-Plus-One strategy of global majors like Apple, following which its contractors like Foxconn and Pegatron and suppliers like Salcomp added to the rise of Tamil Nadu as the country’s electronic hub last year.
 

 

???? Another BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT comes into #TamilNadu ! ????

???? #TataMotors and the Government of Tamil Nadu are revving up for an epic journey!

In the presence of our Honourable @CMOTamilNadu Thiru. @MKStalin avargal, @TataMotors today signed an MoU with the Government of… https://t.co/cAjpHJvUDd pic.twitter.com/K3RTTNewmK

— Dr. T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) March 13, 2024

On the anvil

Project expected to create over 5,000 jobs in five years

Move may expand company’s South India footprint

The auto major has a manufacturing plant in Karnataka’s Dharwad

Announcement comes a month after Vietnam’s VinFast started work on its Rs 16,000 crore electric vehicle making facility in Thoothukudi