Automobile Companies in Chennai: an overview
Chennai's vehicle industry is older than the industrial parks that now surround it. Ashok Leyland set up its Ennore plant, which it calls its mother plant, in 1948. Brakes India was formed in 1962 and built its factory at Padi during the 1960s, and Sundram Fasteners still makes high-tensile fasteners and radiator caps at Padi. MRF, which describes itself as India's largest tyre maker, is headquartered in the city. Most of today's vehicle assembly, though, sits west and south-west of the city along the Sriperumbudur–Oragadam belt.
SIPCOT, the Tamil Nadu industrial development agency, lists industrial parks at Sriperumbudur, Oragadam, Irungattukottai, Pillaipakkam and Vallam Vadagal in Kancheepuram district. Hyundai Motor India has its registered office and factory on Plot H-1 at SIPCOT Irungattukottai, and Asahi India Glass makes automotive glass in the same park. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, the maker of BharatBenz trucks, is registered at SIPCOT Oragadam, where Apollo Tyres has a plant and its Asian R&D centre. Royal Enfield's two production plants are at Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal, and India Yamaha Motor builds two-wheelers at Vadagal and Budanur in Sriperumbudur taluk.
Two other clusters lie outside that belt. To the south, BMW Group's Chennai plant is in Mahindra World City near Chengalpattu, and Sundaram-Clayton runs aluminium die-casting plants there as well as at Oragadam and Thervoy Kandigai. To the north, Michelin signed an agreement with the state government in 2009 for a 290-acre tyre plant at SIPCOT Thervoy Kandigai, about 50 km from the city; it began commercial production of radial truck tyres in early 2014. JK Tyre counts Chennai among its nine Indian plants, and Renault India keeps its head office in Velachery.