While the State government’s efforts to transform Rayalaseema into an “automobile hub” received a major fillip with Hero Motocorp establishing its first manufacturing unit in South India, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu urged automobile majors to focus on “electric mobility” to effectively address the emerging needs of the automotive industry.
Laying the foundation stone for Hero Motocorp’s eighth manufacturing unit at Madanapalem village in Satyavedu mandal of Chittoor district, which is their maiden venture in the southern part of India, here on Friday, Mr. Naidu asserted that foray of electric vehicles into the market would transform the State.
Mr. Naidu urged the company’s officials to capture the electric mobility market and outlined on the State government’s plans to develop an automobile cluster linking metropolitan cities of the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
“The presence of automobile majors such as Isuzu Motors, Kia Motors, Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge, Apollo Tyres, Veera Vahana Udyog etc., some of them yet to commence their operations in Rayalaseema, will completely change the outlook of the region. Till date we have attracted nearly ₹35,000 crore investment in the automotive sector and hope to invite several major players to set up their facilities in the State. In the past four years, Andhra Pradesh, which is predominantly an agriculture-based economy, has registered double digit growth of 10.5%. The progress in agriculture and allied sectors has stabilised, hovering around 15% for the next 5-10 years. Owing to this, we have focussed on industrialisation and development of service sector to generate employment and improve the economy,” Mr. Naidu said.
Hero Motocorp chairman, managing director and CEO Pawan Munjal remarked that they had showcased their intentions by developing a hybrid vehicle, four years ago, at an automobile expo. He asserted that their research and development facility in Jaipur had been focussing on developing both electric motorcycles and scooters.
