If you are not living under a rock, then you most definitely know about the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, where the United States of America is also involved as it is supporting Israel. Now, due to this war, there have been several issues in the global energy supply chain. And recently, it has been reported that Tata Motors is facing a massive shortage of natural gas and propane at its manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, and because of this, the production capacity of this plant can reduce by 50 percent.
Tata Sierra and Nexon production gets reduced by 50 percent
The Sanand manufacturing facility of Tata Motors is responsible for the production of the newly launched mid-size SUV Sierra and the sub-compact SUV Nexon. And because of the shortage of natural gas and propane, the company might get forced to reduce its production capacity by half. Gujarat Gas Ltd., the supplier of gas to Tata Motors, highlighted this issue.
What has happened is that due to the military conflict in Iran and the recent war between Pakistan and Afghanistan, major gas suppliers have been forced to cut industrial natural gas supply by 50 percent. This supply reduction is directly affecting industries which are dependent upon piped natural gas.
Tata Motors' Sanand manufacturing plant consumes 24,000 to 25,000 standard cubic meters of natural gas per day. Additionally, it also has a huge requirement for propane as well. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the supply of natural gas and propane has been cut to half, which has created immediate operational challenges.
Why is natural gas important in car manufacturing?
For those who may be wondering why automakers need natural gas, the answer is that natural gas and propane are used to heat the industrial ovens which are part of the automotive paint shop operations. These ovens that require natural gas and propane help in heating vehicle body panels, curing paint, and hardening protective finishes.
Making things even more difficult, the government of India has also placed restrictions on propane supply. Currently, a majority of propane is imported from the West Asian countries. Due to these issues, it has been reported that Tata Motors is currently trying to source additional fuel supplies. However, till the alternative is found, Tata Motors may have to cut down the production of the Sierra and Nexon by half.
Coming to the details of the Tata Motors manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, the company has two manufacturing plants in Sanand. In total, there are four production lines, and the combined manufacturing capacity of these two plants is around 4,50,000 cars per year, which can be scaled up to 6,00,000.
Plant 1 of the Tata Motors Sanand facility has two production lines and manufactures the Tata Tiago and Tigor. Meanwhile, the other production line manufactures the Tata Nexon, the newly launched Tata Sierra, and the Tata Curvv. Additionally, these production lines also produce electric variants of these vehicles as well.
Apart from the Sanand, Gujarat, manufacturing plants, Tata Motors also operates a plant in Pune, Maharashtra. The Pune facility is capable of producing 4,00,000 vehicles every year. Also, Tata Motors is currently building a new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu as well, which will have an annual capacity of around 2,50,000 vehicles.
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