Tata Motors not coming to Romania, company spokesman says

Tata Motors has officially denied reports that it plans to invest $1 billion to build a new auto plant in Romania.

Following yesterday’s report in which a Cluj County Council spokesman told us he can neither confirm nor deny Tata’s investment, we finally managed to contact Tata Motors’ headquarters in India.

Mr. Debasis Ray, the company’s head of communications, told us by phone that Tata Motors has no plans to invest in Romania, denying recent reports from Romanian and international media. “No, we are not coming to Romania”, Mr. Ray said loud and clear. Asked whether the company is considering manufacturing cars in Europe in the future, Debasis Ray answered: “We don’t know that for the moment.”

However, the Cluj County Council admitted it is currently negotiating with a non-European manufacturer the takeover of Nokia’s former plant located 11 miles north of Cluj-Napoca city. A council spokesman told us yesterday that he was surprised to read in the papers about Tata Motors coming to Cluj, adding that the carmaker interested in the plant is not from Europe.

The Tetarom 3 industrial park has attracted the attention of several manufacturing companies, with Robert Bosch breaking ground last year on a manufacturing unit that will be operational in the second half of 2013. Bosch will invest €77 million in the first phase of the project to make electronic control units for the auto industry, but also has plans to set up a research and development center there.