A joint venture becomes a wholly owned plant
Stellantis India has taken full ownership of the manufacturing operations at Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu after buying the remaining stake held by Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation, part of the CK Birla Group. The site has built vehicles for the group since 2017 under a joint venture arrangement, and the change gives the carmaker direct control of capacity, tooling and hiring at a plant positioned near Chennai's port and its supplier base.
Output target rises past 50,000 units
The company plans to lift annual production from about 18,000 units in 2026 to more than 50,000 by 2027, an increase of more than 160 per cent, and says its direct workforce will more than double over the same period. Executives have pointed to export demand as well as domestic sales, with India increasingly used as a manufacturing base for markets in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Hitting the target depends on suppliers of castings, machined parts, bearings and electronics keeping pace with the line, and on hiring and training enough assembly staff in time.
Investment follows across the industry
The move is part of a wider wave of spending on Indian vehicle manufacturing. JLR, owned by Tata Motors, has begun talks with global banks for a $1.3 billion five-year loan. Global carmakers have spent much of 2026 reworking supply chains, adding local content to insulate plants from tariff changes and from freight costs that have climbed alongside record diesel prices. For component makers, a plant going from 18,000 to 50,000 units is a multi-year order book: bearing, casting and electronics suppliers holding quality approvals for the site are expected to add machines, moulds and staff ahead of the ramp. Analysts say the main risks are slower-than-expected demand and the time needed to qualify new lines for export, which can take a year or more.
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