M&M to setup one of the largest R&D centres in Chennai; state of the art production facility comin

Mahindra & Mahindra, have been given the green light by the TN government to set up a state of the art production facility that will produce SUV’s, Commercial vehicles and tractors. The next generation (monocoque) SUV from Mahindra is expected to be produced here apart from commercial vehicles.

The facility will be able to produce 1,50,000 vehicles per annum and will come up with an investment of 1800 crore rupees at Cheyyar, near Chennai. Of the 450 acres required for the project, the govt has already allocated 200 and the rest will be done soon. The facility also has the option of producing cars and auto components. The highlight is expected to be a dedicated test track at the site which will be the first of its kind with research, production and testing all at one place.

The R&D centre will come up at the 100 acre site earmarked for it at the Mahindra World City. Once in operation, it is expected to be one of the largest Resear, development and Vehicle design centres in the world. The MoU for this project will be signed in about two months. It will create 2500 direct jobs and several thousands more indirectly.The multiplier effect of the project will mean an additional investment of over Rs 5000 crore, they said.

This is a hard fought battle for TN as Mahindra would have setup its facility in its home state of Maharashtra where M & M has huge land bank. This is inspite of the global slowdown and goes on to make TN an undisputed leader in the Automobile segment in India. The TN govt has so far cleared projects accounting to a total of 13.5 lakhs vehicles/annum installed capacity which goes on to comment on the state’s commitment in making Chennai an auto hub.  “Given the global slow down, the M & M investment is a big victory for the State. It will reinforce its leadership position in the auto sector“, they said.

M&M is finally coming to set up its base at Chennai, after the failed JV with Ford for setting up its plant at Chennai. This should also be a huge relief for the firm that has maintained strained relationship with Renault for the Logan. This also heralds the entry of India’s no1 tractor maker in the state where the second largest TAFE and Deutsche-Same already have a base.

Now our personal appeal to the Tamilnadu government is

1. Road rules must be strictly followed.

2. We need the Chennai Auto show to be much bigger than the Auto Expo given that this is the auto hub

3. We need more racing tracks to strengthen our position as a motorsports centre.

Source

Pictures courtesy TeamBHP