In less than two decades, Chennai has emerged as the second most important hub for the automobile sector in India, competing with the Pune-Pimpri region in Maharashtra.
Recent investment announcements prove that the third wave of automobile investments in the country is shared by these two states.
At present, roughly 23 per cent of the cars produced in India comes from Chennai and 15 per cent of the trucks and two-wheelers are from Chennai and Hosur.
The National Capital Region (Delhi-Noida-Gurgaon) continues to be an important centre for the automotive industry, thanks to car market leader Maruti Suzuki and two-wheeler leader Hero Honda having their base there.
The auto industry witnessed its first round of investments in the post-Independence era when Nehruvian industrial policies identified Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as the three automotive centres.
Chennai-based historian and author S Muthiah recollects how Jawaharlal Nehru, country's first prime minister, wanted only one automotive company in each of these three port cities.
Premier Automobiles in Chennai, Hindustan Motors in Kolkata and Standard Motors in Chennai. Interestingly, two of these have ceased to exist and Hindustan Motors remains a fringe player in the 1.5 million-unit Indian car market.
Image: Employees of Hyundai Motors India work in their plant in Sriperumbudur, some 45kms north of Chenna
| Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images
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