Automobile giant Tata Motors will invest in building its first-ever plant in Tamil Nadu. A statement released by the state's industries department said the commercial and passenger vehicle manufacturer is expected to invest ₹9,000 crore, an investment that could result 5,000 jobs.
A social media post on X by Tamil Nadu's industries minister, TRB Rajaa, said that Tata Motors would build a "cutting-edge vehicle-manufacturing facility" in the state.
Rajaa later told CNBC-TV18 that details pertaining to the specific location of the plant and which portfolio of Tata Motor's vehicles would be manufactured there, would be released by the company. He added that production would begin in 18 to 24 months, and that the site would be a 500-acre land bank.
"Tamil Nadu's policy continuity, growth, talent availability and the ease of doing business here are big factors in drawing these investments," said Rajaa, referring to the recent spate of automobile investments in the state: "It has been great to have two automobile giants invest in Tamil Nadu, in two months."
In January, Vietnamese EV major, VinFast invested ₹16,000 crore in a Tuticorin-based EV plant that it inaugurated last month. Around the same time, Hyundai Motor India announced an investment of ₹6,180 crore to expand its existing plant in Irungattukottai, outside Chennai.
While the exact location of Tata Motors' greenfield plant is yet to be decided, Rajaa said the company was keen to establish a manufacturing base near Chennai: "They (Tata Motors) said they would like to remain in and around the vicinity of Chennai; we have given them a couple of options. We'll know which place they will choose in a few days' time."
While there is no clarity yet on whether the company will manufacture commercial or passenger vehicles from its new plant, Rajaa said there was a possibility that it would be an EV-manufacturing site.
"Tamil Nadu's EV policy is an automatic 'yes' for automobile majors wanting to build EVs, here," he said, "What kind of automobiles Tata Motors would like to manufacture is for them to decide; there is a possibility that they will manufacture EVs from the plant."
The minister announced that Tata Motors would break ground in the next few months, with its first vehicles rolling off production lines in 18 to 24 months. "My guess is that it (production) could take 24 months, but I wouldn't be surprised if it begins earlier," he said.
(Edited by : Anand Singha)
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