Tata Motors to buy Nokia plant in Romania to set up production facility

Over the past few days, there have been reports flying out of Romania suggesting a certain negotiation is taking place behind closed doors, between the Cluj Country Council near the city of Cluj and the Indian automaker Tata Motors to invest in the Tetarom 3 Industrial Park at Jucu village - where the Finnish mobile phone company, Nokia used to function until last year, before the factory closed down.

The plan we hear, is to build an entire production facility that will not only produce passenger cars, but also buses, trucks and commercial vehicles. Components could be sourced from local suppliers, and supply chains could be created without having to bring in too many parts from abroad. Tata Motors reportedly, will also build the next generation Tata Nano at the said plant, which will comply with the strict EU regulations - that the current India-spec Nano doesn't. 

Tata Motors is hoping to keep all the information about the development under wraps as long as possible and apparently has even advised the local authorities in Romania to not make any comment on the same. 

However, a Cluj County council official that was contacted on phone by the blokes at inautonews.com said "I can neither confirm nor deny the reports."

On the other side, taking a look at the whole picture, it would be a great move for Tata Motors if the 'speculated' deal does go through, given the favorable conditions of the Tetarom 3 Industrial park n terms of technology, infrastructure and resources. 

The site has already seen a massive investment from auto parts supplier Robert Bosch, which has started production in Cluj county last week. The production facility makes electronic command units for the auto industry. German company Karl Heinz Dietrich, a Bosch logistics partner, also announced plans to set up shop in Tetarom 3. Both Bosch and KHD were attracted by the local infrastructure, which includes a motorway and an airport that is being enlarged.