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Informist, Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

 

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--Gujarat Gas aide: Have cut gas supply to Tata Motors PV Sanand unit by 50%
--Gujarat Gas aide: Usually supply 25,000 scm/d to Tata Motors PV Sanand unit
--Gujarat official: Tata Motors PV uses natural gas to paint cars
--Gujarat official: Tata Motors PV paint operations, production to be hit
--Gujarat official: Not possible for car makers to store unpainted cars
--Gujarat aide: Tata Motors PV may be forced to shut 2 of 4 lines at Sanand
--CONTEXT: Tata Motors PV makes Tigor, Tiago, Nexon, Sierra at Sanand units
--CONTEXT: Tata Motors PV runs 4 lines at Sanand, capacity of 450,000 cars/yr
--Gujarat Gas aide: Tata Motors PV may have to cut car output at Sanand by 50%

 

By Sunil Raghu

 

AHMEDABAD – Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. is facing an acute shortage of natural gas and propane at its Sanand plants and may be forced to cut production by up to 50%, a senior official at Gujarat Gas Ltd. said. Gujarat Gas supplies gas to the Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles units at Sanand. The gas is used to heat paint-shop ovens.

 

"The military conflict in West Asia has seen all major gas suppliers in the country cut supply of natural gas for industry by 50%," the Gujarat Gas official said. "Tata Motors consumed about 24,000-25,000 standard cubic metres per day of natural gas plus propane to run both its plants. Like everyone else, their natural gas supply has been cut to half."

 

The gases are primarily used in automotive paint shops to heat the metal and for curing and drying the paint. While the painting process uses water- or solvent-based coating, the fuel is needed to heat the ovens to bake and harden the coatings. Natural gas is preferred as it is efficient in heating large industrial ovens. Liquefied petroleum gas and propane are also used as alternatives.

 

Tata Motors runs four production lines at its two plants in Sanand, with a combined capacity to manufacture over 450,000 cars per annum, scalable to over 600,000 vehicles. One plant has two lines manufacturing the Tiago and Tigor while the two lines in the other plant are used to manufacture the Nexon, Sierra, and Curvv, including electric models. Tata Motors has another plant at Pune in Maharashtra, which has a capacity to manufacture 400,000 vehicles per annum. It is also setting up a plant in Tamil Nadu with an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles.

 

The government of India has also put curbs on the supply of propane, which, too, is imported primarily from West Asia, a government official said. "Tata Motors officials have been trying to source additional fuel to keep their production lines running, but they may be forced to stop half the production immediately, as the supply is cut from Friday," the government official said. Normally, industry with piped gas supply would not store fuel separately, the official added.

 

"The cars are painted at the end of the line before they are sent out for drying and final inspection. One cannot keep cars as inventory without paint and bring them back on the line to paint later. This affects the final output," the government official said. "The only alternative is to shut production of the entire line."

 

An official response from Tata Motors is awaited. Asked how long the cut would last, or whether it would be made steeper, the government official simply said, "No one has any idea as of now!"

 

The challenge comes at a time when automakers had begun seeing a recovery in demand. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles sold 63,331 cars to dealerships in February, up 35% on year. Domestic passenger vehicle sales jumped 34% on year, with the company selling about 62,329 cars in India in February, up 34% on year, according to the company's earlier exchange filing. The Nexon maker, which holds a share of about 45% in the Indian electric vehicle market, sold 8,385 electric vehicles in February, up 57% on year. Its exports for the quarter stood at 1,002 units, up 167% on year. "The demand was high and Tata Motors was running plants full swing," the government official said.

 

For the December quarter, on a consolidated basis, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles had reported a net loss of INR 34.86 billion on a revenue of INR 761.70 billion. Its December quarter consolidated earnings came under pressure from the lingering impact of a crippling cyberattack in August, which had sapped the momentum of its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover. At 1442 IST, its shares were down 1% on the National Stock Exchange at INR 351.45.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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