To construct the new facility in Oragadam across two phases, ZF has committed to spending INR 1,800 crore up to 2030. ZF is to invest a further INR 30 crore in 2024, having already invested INR 170 crore in the first phase. The land is roughly 44 acres in size, with 26 acres and 18 acres on each side of a divider road. The plant will serve both the home and international markets by producing cutting-edge EV components.
ZF launched a new plant in Tennessee
Chennai: On Wednesday, ZF, a tier-1 automotive components supplier with its headquarters in Germany, officially opened a new plant in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu (TN). The company intends to invest INR 1,800 crore by 2030 and is building the factory in two phases.
ZF is to invest an additional INR 30 crore in 2024, bringing its total first-phase investment to INR 170 crore. The land is roughly 44 acres in size, with 26 acres and 18 acres on each side of a divider road.
The Oragadam plant will be ZF’s tenth in Tennessee and its nineteenth in India. Women are expected to make up around 80% of the workforce.
At its new location, ZF will manufacture systems and parts for electric cars (EVs), such as electric compressors—a compressed air generation technology specifically designed for use in electric and hybrid commercial vehicles (CVs). Within the next ten years, the plant will also make EPB, digital FBV, wheel end solutions, hydraulic ESC, ASP cartridges, digital brake systems, ADB, and even central drives. The factory will serve both the local and international markets.
It is anticipated that the new plant will triple the automotive supplier’s overall sales revenue, from INR 32 crore in 2023 to INR 100 crore in 2024. ZF will also start producing actuators at the new site in Q4 of this year to ship to China and the EU.
ZF has spent INR 3,500 crore in the state so far, creating 9,500 employment, according to T.R.B. Rajaa, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce, Government of TN, who spoke at the factory opening.
The Minister also stated that the development of the new facility started in November 2021 after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in July 2021.
India is a vital market for the ZF Group, according to Peter Laier, Head of Commercial Vehicle (CV) Solutions and Industrial Technology and Member of the Board of Management. The Group sees three main causes propelling growth in India.
The first is meeting the unique demands of the Indian market, which presents numerous prospects due to the growth of the middle class and the emphasis on infrastructure projects. Second, India can be used as a research and development site with competent and skilled engineers to create products for both local and international markets. Third, Laier mentioned India as a global industrial hub.
Despite having a considerable market position in CVs, ZF is now placing a large bet on growth prospects in the passenger car industry due to the trend toward electric mobility.
“We account for a sizeable chunk of the market for all products in the CV class. In the future, the passenger car market will see significant growth, with over 40% of sales coming from SUVs under 4.5 meters. The government will also be enacting numerous regulations, which will present us with numerous opportunities as electric mobility becomes more prevalent, according to Akash Passey, President of ZF Group India.
“Several OEMs have started to go in for full electric platforms and that is creating major opportunities for us,” he stated.
Restating India’s position in the company’s international operations, ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India’s Managing Director, P Kaniappan, stated: “We will keep growing our exports from India because we view it as a global hub for manufacturing excellence.”
By 2040, ZF wants to be carbon neutral. Accordingly, its recently constructed plant is designed to produce solar and wind energy under long-term contracts. To collect and reuse rainwater, it is also designed with infrastructure for rainwater harvesting, to be water positive by 2025.
According to Kaniappan, the automotive supplier wants to establish the new location as a model for sustainable and digital manufacturing.