With the foundation stone of the Tata Motors-JLR plant set to be laid on September 28, Ford Motor planning a comeback with its electric vehicle (EV) plans and VinFast opening next year, Tamil Nadu is fast emerging as India’s EV hub.
In the two-wheeler sector, three of the top five EV makers — Ola Electric, TVS Motor and Ather Energy — are already set up in the state. Meanwhile, another passenger car major Hyundai has already drawn up a roadmap of Rs 20,000 crore for its Chennai unit. By 2024, EV investment commitments have already come from Tata Motors-JLR (Rs 9,000 crore), VinFast (up to $2 billion) and Royal Enfield (Rs 3,000 crore), besides expansion plans from Hyundai and Stellantis (Rs 2,000 crore).
Interestingly, the state already accounts for 70 percent of the total production of electric two-wheelers in India, with a current production capacity of 10 million units. Moreover, in April, Citroën became the first multinational carmaker in India to export domestically produced electric vehicles to the international market by exporting the Ë-C3 that was produced in Tamil Nadu.
According to industry experts, the presence of over 1,500 factories producing automobiles and auto parts is more than anything a major advantage for the state. This established ecosystem ensures that new players can easily join.
“Tata Motors-JLR and VinFast are both export-focused, which makes them very important for the state. However, it also needs to build a stronger subsystem ecosystem. The state has a first-mover advantage with the existing infrastructure in the Hosur region,” said Thiru Srinivasan, senior advisor – electric vehicle sector, FameTN.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will lay the foundation stone of the Tata Motors-JLR plant at Panapakkam in Ranipet district on September 28. This will be the first time that a premium vehicle will be fully manufactured in India instead of being assembled. The unit is expected to be operational in 12-18 months after that. Tata Motors will produce “Made in India” models based on JLR’s Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) for exports, along with Tata EVs based on the same architecture.
Tata Motors is expected to rely on the existing ecosystem of Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) and Renault Nissan Automotive India, besides bringing in its own suppliers. The state government has identified six cities – Coimbatore, Trichy, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Salem and Chennai – for development as EV hubs. Some of the natural advantages that will help this sector include the availability of a skilled workforce, a network and supply chain of complementary suppliers, a vibrant ecosystem for manufacturing automobiles and auto components, and infrastructure and logistics support systems.
According to Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state contributes to 36 percent of the total two-wheeler production, 25 percent of the four-wheeler production and 40 percent of the tyre production in India.
First publication: Sep 17, 2024 | 4:49 pm IST