Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

is nicknamed the "

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

of Asia" due to the presence of major automobile manufacturing units and allied industries around the city. A number of big motor companies, including

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

Royal Enfield Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle manufacturer, headquartered and manufactured in Chennai, India. Royal Enfield (England), Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in continuous production.Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

, Renault-Nissan, Citroen, Caparo Group, Komatsu, Caterpillar,

Ashok Leyland Ashok Leyland Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturer, with its headquarters in Chennai. It is now owned by the Hinduja Group. It was founded in 1948 as Ashok Motors, which became Ashok Leyland in the year 1955 after collab ...

, and TVS, have presence along the 60 km Automotive Corridor. Oragadam is regarded as the epicenter of this corridor, which contains the National Automobile Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP). This corridor is served by three major ports,

Chennai Port Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port also known as Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the thir ...

, Kattupalli Shipyard and Kamarajar Port. The 4-wheeler vehicles in Chennai is the base of 30% of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

automobile industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by ...

and 35% of its automobile component industry. Besides the commercial industry, the

Heavy Vehicles Factory Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) is an armoured vehicle and battle tank manufacturing factory located at Avadi in Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is managed by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI) of the Ministry of Defence, Gover ...

(HVF) has been established in

Avadi Avadi () is a city Located within the Chennai metropolitan area, Its the headquarters of Avadi Police, Avadi City Police, Avadi City Municipal Corporation, Avadi City Corporation and Avadi taluk, Avadi Taluk located within the Thiruvallur dist ...

to produce military related vehicles.

also has the

Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located at Avadi, in Chennai, India. It is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of armoured figh ...

(

CVRDE Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located at Avadi, in Chennai, India. It is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of armoured figh ...

), with an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

-testing facility.

Automotive manufacturers

Tyre manufacturers

Auto-components manufacturers

The following auto component companies have their manufacturing plants in and around Chennai: * Avalon Technologies * Ashley Alteams * Bavina Industries * Bharat Forge *

BorgWarner BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive and Electric vehicle, e-mobility supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. As of 2023, the company maintains production facilities and sites at 92 locations in 24 countries, and generates revenu ...

* Brakes India *

Brembo Brembo N.V. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive parts that most notably produces braking systems, for high-performance cars and for the sim racing series Gran Turismo. Its operational head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy, while Amst ...

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

Aptiv Aptiv PLC is an Irish- American automotive technology supplier with headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Aptiv grew out of the now-defunct American company, Delphi Automotive Systems, which itself was formerly a component of General Moto ...

* Ennore Foundries * Forvia *

Federal-Mogul Federal-Mogul Corporation is an American developer, manufacturer, and supplier of products for automotive, commercial, aerospace, marine, rail, and off-road vehicles, as well as industrial, agricultural, and power-generation applications. It wa ...

* Design Edge Technologies * Hidromas * India Pistons * ILJIN Automotives * Iochpe Maxion * JKM Daerim * Hella *

Hyundai WIA Hyundai WIA Corporation (), formerly known as WIA (World Industries Ace; ) is a member of the Hyundai Motor Group and is the second biggest automotive parts manufacturer in South Korea. As one of the core companies of Hyundai Motor Group, it i ...

Hyundai Mobis Hyundai Mobis Company Limited (), commonly known as Hyundai Mobis, is a public South Korean car parts company which is a member of Hyundai Motor Group. Founded in 1977, the company currently forms the "parts and service" arm for the South Korean ...

* Korea Fuel Tech * Lear Corporation * Leo Primecomp * Machino * Mahindra Accelo Ltd. * HL Mando *

Samvardhana Motherson Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (formerly known as Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd) is an Indian multinational manufacturer of automotive components, based in Noida. It makes wiring harnesses, plastic components and rearview mirrors for pa ...

Rane Rane may refer to: People * Rane (surname), a list of people * Rane (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname Companies * The Rane Group of Companies, an Indian industrial conglomerate ** Rane (Madras), involved in the manufa ...

SEW Eurodrive SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG is a German manufacturing company located in Bruchsal, Germany. The company produces gear units, motors, electric motors, and inverter technology. The beginnings under Ernst Blickle The company started with the desig ...

* Simpson & Co. * Sona Comstar *

TVS Holdings TVS Holdings Ltd, formerly known as Sundaram-Clayton Ltd, is an Indian automotive components company, based in Chennai. Part of the TVS Group, it makes aluminium and magnesium castings for the automotive industry. It was the flagship company o ...

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'' (), and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a Germany, German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles ...

* Takata *

Tube Investments of India Limited Tube Investments of India Limited is an Indian engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in bicycles, metal formed products, and chains. It is based in Chennai and a part of Murugappa Group. It was incorporated as TI Cycles of Ind ...

* Tube Products of India *

TVS Motor Company TVS Motor Company is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Chennai. It is the third-largest motorcycle company in India by revenue. The company has annual sales of three million units and an ...

Valeo Valeo is a French global automotive supplier headquartered in France, listed on the Paris Stock Exchange ( CAC Next 20 Index). It supplies a wide range of products to automakers and the aftermarket. The Group employs 113,600 people in 29 countri ...

Visteon Visteon Corporation (VC) is an American global automotive electronics supplier based in Van Buren Township, Michigan. Visteon designs, engineers, and manufactures vehicle cockpit electronics products, connected car services and electrification p ...

* Wheels India * YAPP Automotive Systems

Automotive Corridor

The Automotive Corridor, also known as Detroit of Asia, is a 60 km long corridor in

. This corridor alone accounts for 33% of commercial vehicles, 21% of all passenger cars, and 35% of auto components which are produced in the country. The corridor stretches from

Gummidipoondi Gummidipoondi is an industrial town in Chennai Metropolitan Region of Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Notably, it is the northernmost assembly constituency and settlement in the state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics Ind ...

, 50 km north of Chennai to

Maraimalai Nagar Maraimalai Nagar is a municipality town in South Chennai at Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India. Lying in the southern part of the Chennai metropolitan area, it is a satellite town of Chennai, the state capital, around 50 km from Do ...

35 km south of Chennai and passes through

Tiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai ( Madras) in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite tow ...

Sriperumbudur Sriperumbudur, also known as Thiruperumbudur, is a Municipality and the headquarters of Sriperumbudur taluk located in Kanchipuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometers southwest of the capital city of Chennai ...

and Oragadam. It is estimated that a part of this corridor from Tiruvallur to Maraimalai Nagar alone, by 2012, would produce around 1.25 million cars, 35,000 commercial vehicles and other automotives per year.

Tyre hub of India

Major tyre manufacturing companies alone have committed investments around $4 billion in Tamil Nadu of which 90% has been invested in the Automotive Corridor. A number of tyre manufacturing companies have set up factories in this corridor and are as follows.

References