Tata Motors Unveils New Vehicle Manufacturing Plant in Tamil Nadu; To Use 100% Renewable Power

Tata Motors recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new vehicle manufacturing facility in Panapakkam, Ranipet district, Tamil Nadu. This state-of-the-art, greenfield plant will use 100% renewable power and is expected to create over 5,000 employment opportunities. The facility will produce next-generation vehicles for both Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), catering to both Indian and global markets.

This initiative aligns with Tata Motors' commitment to sustainability and innovation. The plant will also focus on skill-building within the local community. It's a significant step towards promoting indigenous manufacturing under the "Make in India, For the World" initiative.

Tata Motors Group intends to invest ~INR 9,000 crores (approximately 1.08 billion USD) in this greenfield manufacturing facility, which has been designed for an annual production capacity of over 250,000 vehicles. Production will begin in a phased manner and progressively increase to reach this capacity over the next 5-7 years.

This new Tata Motors facility in Tamil Nadu will produce a range of next-generation vehicles for both Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). This includes electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid vehicles, and advanced internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The focus will be on leveraging cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices to cater to both domestic and international markets.

The manufacturing facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. This capacity will support the production of a range of next-generation vehicles for both Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), including electric vehicles (EVs) and other advanced models.

Tata's JLR Forms JV with China's Chery to Produce Electric Vehicles (EVs) for the Chinese Market

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, has partnered with Chery Automobile Company (Chery) to create a 50/50 joint venture called CJLR. This collaboration aims to strengthen CJLR's product offerings for the next era of electrification in China. Under this new licensing agreement, the CJLR Joint Venture will produce an advanced portfolio of electric vehicles based on Chery's EV architecture, exclusively under the Freelander brand.

This marks the beginning of a strategic phase for CJLR, with Freelander becoming a brand reborn under license from JLR. The vehicles will be designed collaboratively by Chery and JLR's Creative teams, positioning them in the rapidly growing China mainstream New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market.

Additionally, Tata Motors' electric vehicle arm, TPEM, has also partnered with JLR to develop the "Avinya" series of premium pure electric vehicles using JLR's Electrified Modular Architecture platform.

The Freelander brand is being revived under the CJLR Joint Venture (a collaboration between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover) for the Chinese market. The new Freelander electric vehicles will be designed collaboratively by Chery and JLR's Creative teams.

The Freelander EVs will exist alongside CJLR's current models, marking a new chapter for the joint venture. These electric Freelanders will be sold through a separate dealer network within China, with the potential for future global exports.

This JV positions the auto companies competitively within the booming Chinese electric vehicle market.
The Freelander brand has an interesting history. Originally, it was associated with Land Rover, a British luxury SUV manufacturer, before getting acquired by Tata Group. The Land Rover Freelander was a compact SUV produced from 1997 to 2014.

The Land Rover Freelander was introduced in 1997 as Land Rover's entry-level model. It was positioned below the larger Discovery and Range Rover models. The Freelander was popular for its practicality, versatility, and comfortable ride. It came with various engine options, including petrol and diesel variants. Features included hill descent control, terrain response system, and a panoramic sunroof.

The Freelander paved the way for Land Rover's compact SUV lineup. In 2015, Land Rover replaced the Freelander with the Discovery Sport, which continued the compact SUV legacy.

As mentioned earlier, the Freelander brand is being revived under the CJLR Joint Venture (a collaboration between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover) for the China market.

Chery, a Chinese automaker, has made a significant development in recent years. Ranked as China's No. 8 automaker by sales volume in 2022, Chery is now eyeing European markets. It joins other Chinese automakers like BYD, Xpeng, and Nio in expanding beyond China as competition intensifies

In first quarter of this year, the Geely Group (which owns brands like Volvo and Lotus) became the first Chinese carmaker to enter the global top 10 sales chart. Geely secured the 10th spot, surpassing Germany's Mercedes-Benz Group and BMW. Its sales volume increased by 27% year-over-year.

Other Chinese companies are also catching up. BYD, Changan Automobile, Chery Automobile, and SAIC Motor all secured places in the global top 20 sales chart during the same period.

Chery's global brands include Chery itself, Exeed (a luxury brand competing with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz), Omoda, and Jetour. These brands offer electric, plug-in hybrid, and internal combustion power trains.

Moreover, Chery has also explored entering the U.S. market multiple times. While assembling cars in the U.S. has been challenging for Chinese automakers due to complexities, Chery continues to consider it.

Founded in 1997, Chery is relatively new compared to some other Chinese automakers. Its main products include passenger cars, SUVs, and commercial vehicles. Chery started exporting cars in 2001 but still has a limited global presence.

Land Rover To Launch Its First Smartphone Soon

[caption id="attachment_105867" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Image - Ovu0ng / Shutterstock.com[/caption]

The ever growing global Smartphone market seems to have even got the Jaguar excited. According to the latest buzz in the market, Jaguar Land Rover, the British automotive brand which is currently owned by Tata Motors, has decided to launch its own range of smartphones and accessories by early next year.

For the project, Jaguar Land Rover has decided to join hands with the Bullitt Group, a popular consumer electronics company.

According to a statement released by the British automotive brand, “Incorporating iconic Land Rover design and innovative technology into the mobile phone sector with Bullitt Group presents an exciting challenge and fantastic opportunity to take the brand into a new dimension."

Land Rover will be assigning a special engineering and design team from Jaguar Land Rover special operations for the partnership, which will meticulously work to produce a number of bespoke applications tailored to Land Rover brand and product values.

According to the automative brand, the new range of smartphones and accessories will be launched in 2017 and imbibe the Land Rover brands core values. The company promises that they will feature some really innovative capabilities and technology in its this new range of offerings.

Bullitt Group believes that their this partnership with the Jaguar Land Rover will result in a groundbreaking portfolio of mobile devices and peripherals which will help take the brand to an excitingly new level of commercial terrain.

According to the Group, the new range will have elegance and durability at its heart. It has been especially designed to become an integral active lifestyle partner for people who are always ready and enthusiastic about taking on new challenges head-on and go much 'above and beyond' the ordinary.

Bullitt Group has worked on their rugged and tough smartphones with various clients in the past.

“We are confident the new range of products will perfectly encapsulate everything that Land Rover represents, appealing to those who already love the brand and providing an introduction to those who are yet to discover it,” said Peter Stephens, CEO, Bullitt Group in a statement to a news daily.

Notably, in last month, Land Rover has also launched car-focused tech startup - InMotion, that will focus on building technology to improve features in future cars.

Tata Motors Subsidiary Land Rover Launches Car-Focussed Tech Startup

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a wholly-subsidiary of Indian automaker Tata Motors has launched a new independent tech-startup that will focus on building technology to improve features in future cars.

The car-focussed startup is called as InMotion and it will focus on developing apps and on-demand services that will look to solve what JLR describes as "modern travel and transport challenges.

Next month InMotion will begin real-world testing of a number of different services such as car sharing and car ownership solutions, across North America, Europe and Asia in the coming months.

Adrian Hallmark, Group Strategy Director, Jaguar Land Rover said:"With the development of new apps and on-demand services, InMotion provides us with an opportunity to provide engaging and invaluable experiences to both new and existing customers globally."

As wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover, InMotion is based in London and will employ up to 30 people who will support entrepreneurs to build new businesses. This will give it the agility and independence to create nimble services which respond to the fast pace of the mobility sector, but with robust financial and technological support.

Notably an interestingly, its not just Jaguar Land Rover which is turning its attention away from simply building vehicles to focusing on the future of mobility, infact there are quite a few other players in auto industry. For example, Ford recently took a very similar approach when it spun off Smart Mobility into a separate startup. BMW also rebranded its DriveNow carsharing service into ReachNow to also add a future ridesharing service.