After Haryana and Gujarat, the state of Uttarakhand is emerging fast as the latest automotive hub in the country. Automotive giants like domestic brand Mahindra & Mahindra and German car maker, Volkswagen have shown their interest in setting-up a manufacturing plant in Uttarakhand This move came as a reaction to Maharashtra State government, wherein both the companies are operating and have declared that only cars manufactured in the state will be eligibly for VAT refund. This seems to have irked the car makers who are scouting for new locations with Uttarakhand being on top of the list.
Earlier, Gujarat was expected to benefit the most from Maharashtra's new VAT system. However, now Uttarakhand is being touted as the next possible gainer from the aforementioned new system being implied in Maharashtra. Uttarakhand is already a home for manufacturing facilities of Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors at Haridwar and Pantnagar. Though considering the dearth of land for industrial development at Haridwar and Pantnagar, the state is developing Sitarganj as next possible location for industrial utilisation.
Coming back to Mahindra & Mahindra, the car maker has asked for 700 acres of land in the state to establish its new manufacturing facility over there. The country's largest utility vehicle manufacturer is said to have lined-up an investment worth Rs. 30 billion in Uttarakhand, as the state officials. The proposed plant will have an annual production capacity of 2,50,000 units. On August 2, 2012, President, Automotive and farm sector, M&M, Pawan Goenka met Bahuguna to discuss the production possibilities in the state. On the other hand, German car maker has demanded 200-300 acres of land for the same purpose from Uttarakhand government.
If the plans of both the car makers to set-up plants in the new state come along well, it would mean a considerable improvement in the development process of India as a whole. This will also conclude that the Indian automotive market will no longer be concentrated in certain areas like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
As of now, Mahindra has set up its manufacturing plants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Volkswagen only has a single car manufacturing factory at Chakan, near Pune. However, the German car marque is also present in Aurangabad, wherein the models of its Audi and Skoda brand are developed.
