In a first for India's premium automobile segment, Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Wednesday inaugurated its state-of-the-art greenfield manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu's Ranipet district, marking the first time a luxury electric SUV will be fully manufactured in the country.
Chief Minister M K Stalin would inaugurate the plant and flag off the first vehicle from the facility in the presence of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, underscoring Tamil Nadu's growing stature as a global automobile manufacturing hub in India.
The Rs 9,000-crore facility, spread across 470 acres, has an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles and is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for around 5,000 people. The plant will be fully powered by green energy and will manufacture both internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles, including premium Jaguar Land Rover models, apart from select passenger vehicles of Tata Motors for the Indian and global markets.
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Unlike JLR's Pune facility, which largely assembles vehicles, the Ranipet plant is a full-fledged manufacturing unit - making it the first time a complete premium car will roll out of an Indian factory.
The facility's strategic location along the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor gives it strong multimodal connectivity, with access to the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, the Salem-Chennai Expressway, and proximity to Ennore, Kattupalli and Chennai ports. The project also reflects the state government's distributed development model, extending Chennai's automobile ecosystem - often referred to as the "Detroit of Asia" - to tier-two industrial towns nearly 100 km away.
The investment comes at a time when India is expanding its trade footprint through recent free trade agreements with Europe and tariff arrangements with the United States - which could open up opportunities and challenges as well.
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The carmaker saye India presents a compelling growth opportunity driven by strong economic momentum, rising wealth and growing demand for luxury vehicles. While JLR has been manufacturing in India since 2011, the localisation of its flagship models marks a strategic shift as the company has seen a threefold growth in its India business over the past three years and expects to double it in the next three. In FY24, JLR reported Rs 4,000 crore in revenue from India with sales of 4,500 units, alongside a 31% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of FY25. With India's GDP growing at 7-8%, an expanding high-net-worth population and luxury car penetration currently at just 1% of the passenger vehicle market, JLR believes local manufacturing will help reduce waiting periods, lower costs through duty savings, improve competitiveness and significantly expand its market share as it scales up volumes and dealership presence across the country.
The Ranipet plant is expected to play a crucial role in Tata Motors' global electric and premium vehicle strategy, reinforcing Tamil Nadu's position as a trusted investment destination and a key partner in India's manufacturing-led growth story.