Jaguar Land Rover Drops Plan to Build EVs at Tata's India Plant: Sources.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has shelved its plan to manufacture electric vehicles at parent company Tata Motors’ upcoming $1 billion plant in Tamil Nadu, sources familiar with the matter said. The decision comes as the British luxury carmaker struggles to strike the right balance between cost and quality for locally sourced EV parts and amid slowing global demand for electric vehicles.

“For India, all the work on JLR electric vehicles has stopped. Everything has been suspended since about two months,” a supplier source said.

Global automakers are adjusting their EV strategies in response to growing competition from Chinese brands, shifting consumer preference toward hybrid models, and relaxed regulatory timelines for emissions and EV sales targets.

JLR’s move is expected to delay Tata Passenger Electric Mobility’s launch of its premium Avinya EVs, as the cars were set to share a platform with JLR’s models and benefit from joint component sourcing.

Tata Motors began constructing the Tamil Nadu plant in September, aiming for a full production capacity of 250,000 vehicles annually within 5-7 years. The now-scrapped plan involved JLR producing over 70,000 EVs at the facility, alongside 25,000 units from Tata’s EV division.

Tata Motors stated that production timelines and model selection for the new plant would align with Tata and JLR’s broader strategy and market dynamics.

India’s EV market remains nascent, with electric cars accounting for just 2% of total annual sales of 4 million vehicles. However, competition is intensifying as Tesla finalizes its India entry and local players like JSW MG Motor and Mahindra & Mahindra introduce feature-rich EVs with extended ranges.

In November, JLR had engaged with Indian suppliers in Mumbai to discuss its EV production plans and potential local component sourcing. Some suppliers had been asked to provide pricing details, but these talks have now been suspended.

JLR primarily manufactures its vehicles in the UK, Europe, and China but assembles some models, including Range Rover SUVs, at Tata’s Pune plant.

Meanwhile, Tata’s EV unit, which had planned to finalize supplier orders by January, is now revising its designs as the original plan appears unfeasible without JLR’s participation, sources said. In January, Tata postponed the launch of its Avinya EV from 2024 to 2026-2027, and further delays could follow.

Tata Motors reiterated that its product development process includes ongoing assessments of design, supply chain readiness, and unit economics to ensure a competitive and high-quality offering.

HBL