Tata Begins Production At Sanand Plant Bought From Ford

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM), Tata Motors’ electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary, recently announced the launch of production at its new facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

In 2023, Ford India acquired the Sanand plant to produce internal combustion and electric vehicles. According to reports, the Tata Nexon EV is the first model to be introduced at this plant, ushering in a new era.

The new EV facility, which spans 460 acres, was acquired from Ford India on January 10, 2023, and Tata was able to upgrade the plant to meet its needs in just 12 months. The plant has four main shops: stamping, body construction, paint, and final assembly. The automaker claims that each shop is equipped with advanced automation and technology to ensure precision manufacturing.

“Witnessing the first car roll out of the new TPEM facility in Sanand is a proud moment for us. We have successfully retooled the factory in the shortest span of 12 months, taking it to a new level to accommodate a wide range of existing products and future new models,” said Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director (MD), Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited & Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited as per a press release. He is confident that this facility will play an important role in steering Tata Motors, particularly TPEM, towards greater accomplishments, the presser adds.

“Tata Motors Passenger & Electric Vehicles business has delivered market-beating growth over the last few years. We have strong plans to sustain this momentum, with our robust pipeline of future-ready “New Forever” products and proactive investments in electric vehicles,” Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited adds. With existing capacities nearing saturation, this new facility will provide an additional 300,000 units per year of cutting-edge manufacturing capacity, which is scalable to 420,000 units per year, he further stated.

Tata’s Sanand Plant: Details Here

The new facility necessitated extensive retooling and technological upgrades, including the installation of new dies for stamping critical skin panels in the press shop. The weld shop needed to modify all lines with new grippers, robots, and fixtures. The paint shop required handling system modifications, external robot programming, and internal robotic painting and waxing setup, whereas the assembly shop required handling and end-of-line system modifications.

Tata’s new EV plant currently employs over 1,000 people, including staff and technicians, and the company plans to create another 1,000 jobs in the region within the next three to four months. The carmaker also intends to invest in upskilling its employees by providing diplomas, Bachelor of Engineering, and Master’s Degrees as needed.

The Sanand plant has also been upgraded to be more sustainable, with a 50 kW solar rooftop and a water-neutral plant that is expected to become water-positive by December 2024.