Tata Motors set to start JLR assembly in Chennai

Tata Motors will begin local assembly of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles at its new Panapakkam facility near Chennai from February 9, 2026, marking a major expansion of its premium manufacturing operations in India. The first model expected to be assembled at the plant is the Range Rover Evoque. The company has invested around Rs 90 billion in the new Chennai plant, which has a planned production capacity of 250,000 vehicles per year. In the initial phase, the facility will focus mainly on assembling JLR models as Tata ramps up local production. At present, Tata assembles JLR vehicles at its Pune plant, and CKD operations there are expected to continue for the time being. There is no confirmation yet on whether Pune operations will eventually be shifted to Chennai. The move comes as Tata Motors faces increasing capacity pressure across its existing factories, which has contributed to longer waiting periods for some models. Speaking about the expansion, MD and CEO Shailesh Chandra said the company will need the Panapakkam plant at full scale within the next few years to support future demand.