Andhra Pradesh beats Tamil Nadu to win Rs 1,614 crore investment from three Hyundai, Kia suppliers

New Delhi|Chennai: In a significant win for Andhra Pradesh's efforts to attract global manufacturing investments, three South Korean automotive component manufacturers supplying Hyundai and Kia have chosen the state over Tamil Nadu for their expansion plans, committing a combined investment of ₹1,614 crore in Anantapur.

The development marks a setback for Tamil Nadu, which has been actively courting Korean companies to deepen its automobile manufacturing ecosystem and had held discussions with all three companies to set up or expand their operations in the state. Hwashin, Seoyon and Iwamet have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish manufacturing facilities in Anantapur.

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Hwashin has committed ₹850 crore and is expected to generate 100 jobs, while Seoyon will invest ₹514 crore and create 918 jobs. Iwamet has committed ₹250 crore, with an employment potential of 400. Together, three projects are expected to generate 1,418 jobs and strengthen Anantapur's position as an emerging automotive manufacturing hub.

The investments follow Andhra Pradesh IT, Electronics and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh's visit to South Korea in July, during which he held a roundtable with automotive component manufacturers in the Hyundai and Kia supply chain. The three companies participated in the interaction, following which the Andhra Pradesh government undertook sustained follow-up through Economic Development Board to convert discussions into investment commitments.

"During our visit to South Korea, we met automotive component makers from the Hyundai and Kia supply chain and invited them to Andhra Pradesh. Our teams followed up, and today Hwashin, Seoyon and Iwamet have committed significant investments in Anantapur. This shows the confidence global investors have in Andhra Pradesh, and we will support them every step of the way," Lokesh told ET.

The developments come against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu's own efforts to retain and attract Korean investments. All three companies had earlier been in discussions with the previous DMK government over setting up or expanding their operations in the state, a person aware of the developments said. Queries sent to Guidance, Tamil Nadu's nodal investment promotion agency, remained unanswered as of press time Sunday.