Indian automotive giant Tata Motors is doubling down on the electric vehicle market. The company just announced the acquisition of Ford Motors’ manufacturing factory in Sanand, India, with plans to transform it into a facility for the production of electric cars.
Tata and Ford finalized the deal last week but had to wait for it to be approved by the state of Gujarat. It comes after Ford decided to withdraw from India and scrap plans to make the Sanand factory the main hub for electric vehicle production for global markets. The manufacturing process was stopped back in April.
“Rising customer preference for passenger and electric vehicles made by Tata Motors has led to a multi-fold growth … this potential transaction will support the expansion of capacity,” said Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata’s electronic vehicle department, after the deal was announced.
Tata is already the biggest name in the Indian market when it comes to electric vehicles. Its rapid growth in this sector was fueled by the government’s attempts to kick start the production of electric cars via generous incentives.
According to reports, Tata Motors plans to make a sizeable investment in the factory and produce 300,000 units on a yearly basis. If everything goes as planned, the production will be increased by an additional 100,000 units. Also, the company pledged to keep the majority of the employees.
