India's passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is the sixth largest in the world, with an annual production of more than 3.9 million units in 2011. In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of passenger cars, behind Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. In 2010, India beat Thailand to become Asia's third largest exporter of passenger cars.

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 was launched by the Prime Minister of India on the 9th January, 2013. The principal end objectives of the National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM) are National energy security, mitigation of the adverse impact of vehicles on the environment and growth of domestic manufacturing capabilities.

As per these projections, 6-7 million units of new vehicle sales of the full range of electric vehicles, along with resultant liquid fuel savings of 2.2 – 2.5 million tonnes can be achieved in 2020. This will also result in substantial lowering of vehicular emissions and decrease in carbon di-oxide emissions by 1.3% to 1.5% in 2020 as compared to a status quo scenario. Several advancements have already been achieved as of today with most of the OEMs introducing or ready to introduce their HEVs

The Oldest and the Largest Cluster in India for Automotive Vehicles, Components Manufacturing, Research & Development

Chennai is home to global and Indian auto majors like Ashok Leyland, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Daimler, TVS Group, et cetera. It is also the country’s oldest cluster of Auto component Industry with almost 35 per cent of India's share of auto ancillary units.

Industry-friendly government policies, proximity to the port, and traditional engineering base are factors that have made the City the 'Detroit' of India.

Chennai has emerged as the country's largest automotive and auto components manufacturing hub in terms of volume and investment. Over the past couple of decades, the city has truly developed into a world class industrial and manufacturing hub with organizations across IT, automotive, telecom, retail springing up everywhere. The Chennai-Bangalore corridor is in line to be the biggest industrial corridor in the next few years.

Home for major OEs

Currently, US carmaker Ford India, Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, German premium automaker BMW, and Franco-Japan joint venture Renault-Nissan have set up manufacturing facilities in the city and its suburbs. Apart from that, domestic players like the country's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motors, Hinduja group flagship firm and Commercial Vehicle maker Ashok Leyland have long before set up their units. It also has almost 40 per cent of India's share of auto ancillary units.

Recognizing the importance of automobile and auto- components sector to State, the government has brought out a separate Tamil Nadu Automobile and Auto component Policy 2014 as a part of the second phase of Tamil Nadu Vision 2023.

This automobile policy will focus on future development and consolidation of the automobile and components industry, where Tamil Nadu enjoys a comparative advantage. It aims to generate five hundred thousand jobs and make Chennai as one of the World's top five auto clusters. The total investment envisaged in the 33 MOUs signed under the special policy so far by the Government is INR 3,170 Billion with an employment potential for 162,000.

Export hub

Chennai is already an automobile hub with so many companies. Its location and access to a sea port is a big plus. Indian largest car exporter Hyundai Motor India exports more than 40 per cent of cars manufactured at its Sriperumbudur plant to European countries using the Chennai port. The recent entrant Renault-Nissan is adopting a similar strategy with its new car 'Micra', destined for both the domestic market and exports to over 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Currently Ford exports its compact car 'Ford Figo' to 50 markets in the world through Chennai and Ennore (near Chennai) port. A spokesperson of the company said that Ford is ramping up India operations to create an export hub for small cars and engines.

Haven of global players

Analysts attribute this to the pleasant, investor-friendly environment prevailing in Tamil Nadu. Already a host of global automotive giants including Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Daimler, Komatsu, Caterpillar, Kobelco, Caparo and others have made significant investments in the State. Taking into account the projects already implemented and those in the pipeline, Chennai has an installed annual capacity to produce 1.7 million cars, SUVs and tractors.

House for R&D

Having emerged as a leader in auto component manufacturing, Chennai is also emerging as a base for vehicle design and related research and development. At present, Chennai has five major state-of-the-art R&D and vehicle development centres promoted by renowned auto majors including Daimler, Renault-Nissan (Renault-Nissan Technology Business Centre India), Visteon, Mahindra (Mahindra Research Valley) and Ashok Leyland. As a result of the establishment of these research centres, Chennai is also evolving as a knowledge hub for the global automobile industry.

Strong Engineering Base

Historically, manufacturing in this region started in 1840, with Simpsons pioneering India’s automobile industry including making rail coaches and diesel engines.

According to government sources, in 1948, came Ashok Leyland to first assemble ‘Austin Cars’. But today, a flagship of the Hinduja Group, Ashok Leyland with three plants in Tamil Nadu itself is one of the largest makers of trucks, buses and off-road vehicles. The TVS Group had burst into a robust phase in the 1960s’, setting up a number of auto-components manufacturing plants. Thus a sound engineering base ably supported by a skilled workforce took shape.

The strength of Human Resources employed in Manufacturing, Research and Development in the Cluster has grown from 140,000 in 2006 (Automotive Mission Plan 2016 Report) to 220,000 today.

Two modern ports in Chennai and an excellent road and air connectivity, reliable infrastructure, abundant availability of skilled manpower and the upcoming Global Automotive Research Centre under National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) for complete vehicle performance testing provide a perfect auto industry ecosystem in Chennai, making it one of the top ten global automobile manufacturing centers for everything from Bicycles to Battle Tanks!

Chennai - A melange of history, art, culture, natural splendors and technological progress. The capital of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India, Chennai is home to Marina Beach, the second longest beach in the world, with a sprawling stretch of gorgeous golden sands and shimmering cool blue waters.

Mahabalipuram is located 50 Kms from Chennai. Resplendent with rock carvings and temples dating back to the 7th century, Mahabalipuram stands testimony to the expert architecture that is so typical of the Pallava dynasty.