Hyundai to invest 20,000 Cr rupees in TN to expand EV production

 Hyundai to invest 20,000 Cr rupees in TN to expand EV production 

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), India’s second largest car manufacturer, signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu to invest for expanding electric vehicle (EV) production and in associated ecosystem. The investment is of around 20,000 Cr rupees over 10 years of period. HMIL is planning to set up a battery pack assembly unit with an annual capacity of 178,000 units. And it is planning to install 100 EV charging stations across the state in the next 5 years. 

                                 In 2022, HMIL’s total exports were 1,81,000 units, and the company plans to increase the exports to 3,19,000 units in 2023. They are planning to do this by converting the Sriperumbudur unit near Chennai as a regional export hub of ICE and EVs. Tamil Nadu announced a new policy in February which offers incentives for manufacturers, customers and charging infrastructure providers. After this announcement it is the second large investment for EV production in Tamil Nadu. The HMIL’s plant in Sriperumbudur came up in December 1996 and the second factory which needed an investment of 4,000 Cr rupees came up in February 2008. According to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, HMIL has invested 23,900 Cr rupees in the state and provides employment to 15,000 people directly and 250,000 people indirectly. He added that Tamil Nadu is the leading producer of automobiles and components, including electric vehicles in India. And the reasons for this are mainly the efficient human resources, world-class infrastructure, and the constructive actions of the Tamil Nadu government. He also pointed on how this will be a step towards the state’s goal of becoming a 1 trillion dollar economy by 2030.

                          The Tamil Nadu investment contributes to Hyundai’s roadmap to become net zero carbon foot by 2045. The Hyundai’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) came to Tamil Nadu after Cisco, US-based network gear maker, announced its plans about setting up manufacturing plant in the state. The Tamil Nadu Electric Vehicles Policy 2023, have incentives for manufacturers which include 100 percent repayment of state goods and services tax, investment or turnover based subsidy and advanced chemistry cell subsidy. Other than that the state will provide a 100 percent exemption on electricity tax for 5 years on power purchased from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation. Tamil Nadu has seen projects with employment potential of around 48,000 jobs in the EV value chain during the last 5 years.