Mitsubishi Electric, Tamil Nadu Tie Up For Rs 1,895 Cr Manufacturing Unit

Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation on Tuesday signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu to set up a Rs 1,895-crore unit, marking a rare instance of 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in electronic equipment manufacturing in India.

It will be Mitsubishi Electric’s first air-conditioner (AC) and compressor manufacturing facility in India. Origins by Mahindra, a joint venture, will construct the facility on a 52-acre land in Peruvoyal village in Gummidipoondi taluk of Thiruvallur district, according to the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The unit will manufacture room ACs and compressors and provide jobs to more than 2,000 people. The MoU was followed by a foundation-laying ceremony. The tie up with Mitsubishi comes days ahead of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s visit to Japan and Singapore to invite businesses for the Global Investors Summit (GIS) in the state on January 10-11 next year.

The unit plans to start production in October 2025 with an initial annual capacity of up to 300,000 ACs and by the beginning of December 2025, 650,000 compressors. Stalin said that his state is working to become a $1-trillion economy by 2030 and is in the forefront of welcoming industries.

The manufacturing unit was announced almost a month after Mahindra Industrial Park Chennai (MIPCL), a joint venture between Mahindra World City Developers and Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, signed a lease agreement with Mitsubishi Electric India for setting up the unit at Origins.

As per the Mitsubishi Electric’s ‘Advance and Innovation 2025 Strategy’, introduced in November 2021, it is targeting sales of air conditioning and refrigeration systems worth $ 10.5 billion with an operating profit of 12 per cent by March 2026 across the world.  “In line with this strategy, the company is accelerating its launch of high-performance, energy-saving and environmentally friendly products to offer natural refrigerants that meet local needs, expand production for stable product supply and shorter lead times, and introduce lifecycle solutions encompassing sales, service, facility management and product recycling,” said a company statement.

Mitsubishi Electric India (MEI), an arm of the Japanese major, was established in 2010 and has marked its presence by selling imported products. “With Strategic location advantages and multiple Ports, it can be considered as one of the best manufacturing and investment destinations in India, which led MEI to make this strategic Investment in this state. Tamil Nadu has well developed infrastructure with an excellent connectivity of airports, ports, roads within India and overseas countries, for Industrial Parks, Industrial Corridor for plug and play facilities for new manufactures, well-organized Infrastructure Facilities for Social, Health and Educational,” it said.

Origins is located on NH16 (part of the Golden Quadrilateral). It is also within the influence zone of Chennai–Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and Chennai–Vizag Industrial Corridor (CVIC) near Ponneri. Origins is also near the three major ports of Chennai (Chennai Port, Ennore Port and Kattupalli Port) and boasts of an excellent connectivity to the city business district of Chennai.