Tata Motors has confirmed that it will start assembling Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles at its Panapakkam facility near Chennai from February 9, 2026. The update was shared during the company’s latest earnings call and marks an important step in expanding Tata Motors’ luxury vehicle manufacturing operations in India.
This move also signals the operational start of the Panapakkam plant, which was announced in 2024 with an investment of around Rs 9,000 crore. Once fully operational, the facility is designed to produce up to 2.5 lakh vehicles annually and is expected to generate employment for over 5,000 people. While current demand for luxury vehicles in India is much lower than this capacity, the plant has been planned with long-term growth in mind, including the possibility of exports in the future.
For now, the Chennai plant will begin with assembly operations. Tata Motors has not officially confirmed which JLR models will be assembled there. However, reports suggest that the Range Rover Evoque could be the first model to roll out from the facility, though the company has not commented on this speculation.
According to Tata Motors, the decision to activate the Panapakkam plant is driven mainly by capacity constraints at its existing manufacturing locations. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said that most of the company’s current plants are nearing full capacity. He added that in the coming years, Tata Motors will require the full Panapakkam site to support future growth.
At present, Jaguar Land Rover vehicles for the Indian market are assembled at Tata Motors’ Pune facility using the completely knocked down (CKD) route. Tata Motors clarified that Pune will continue handling JLR CKD assembly for now. When asked about a possible shift of production from Pune to Chennai, the company said that more clarity would be shared at a later stage. The current focus is on expanding capacity rather than relocating operations.
JLR’s global management also highlighted India’s importance as a long-term growth market. Richard Molyneux, Chief Financial Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, acknowledged that JLR’s sales volumes in India remain lower than those of German luxury rivals such as BMW. While JLR’s annual sales in India are still below five figures, the brand sees strong potential for growth.
With local assembly at the Chennai plant and increased manufacturing capacity, Tata Motors aims to strengthen JLR’s position in the Indian luxury car market over the coming years.
