Tata Motors To Start Local Assembly Of JLR Vehicles In Chennai

Tata Motors has confirmed that it is getting started assembling Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles at its Panapakkam plant, which is near Chennai, on 9 February 2026. The announcement that was made during the company’s latest earnings call marks an expansion of its luxury vehicle manufacturing footprint in India.

The development effectively marks the operational debut of Tata Motors’ Panapakkam facility. The 9,000 crore plant, announced in 2024, has been designed for an annual capacity of up to 2,50,000 vehicles and is expected to employ over 5,000 people once fully ramped up. While the capacity is far higher than the current luxury-car demand in India, it leaves room for future expansion, consisting of exports.

While Tata Motors has not officially named the models which will be assembled at the facility, media reports earlier in the day suggested that the Range Rover Evoque can be the first JLR vehicle to be assembled there.

With respect to Tata Motors, the decision to activate the Chennai facility is largely driven by the capacity constraints at its current manufacturing locations. The MD and CEO of the company, Shailesh Chandra, said, “Most of our plants are kind of running out of capacity, and in a couple of years, we need the full plot at Panapakkam”.

He added that the initial phase will focus on assembly operations, as other locations do not have adequate space for further expansion at present.

The Pune facility in Maharashtra assembles the Jaguar Land Rover vehicles from the completely knocked-down (CKD) units. When asked whether production would shift from Pune to Chennai, Chandra said clarity would be provided at the larger stage, reiterating that only start of JLR assembly at Chennai has been confirmed for now.

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