A German luxury badge and an electric powertrain rolled off a Pune assembly line on Wednesday, 4 November 2026 — and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was there to mark the moment. The Chief Minister's Office of Maharashtra announced that CM Fadnavis formally unveiled the Mercedes-Benz Electric GLC at a ceremony in Pune, framing the launch as proof that Maharashtra is ready to lead the world's next mobility revolution, not merely assemble its vehicles.

From 'Make in Maharashtra' to 'Innovate in Maharashtra'

CM Fadnavis drew a deliberate arc in his address: the state's ambition has outgrown the factory floor. 'मेक इन महाराष्ट्र'पासून 'इनोव्हेट इन महाराष्ट्र'पर्यंत — 'from Make in Maharashtra to Innovate in Maharashtra' — was the phrase he used to signal a pivot from volume manufacturing toward research, engineering, software and design. The vehicle of tomorrow, he argued, is not simply a machine on four wheels but 'a combined form of a computer, an energy system and an AI-powered mobility platform.' Maharashtra, he said, intends to lead that transformation.

The ambition is specific: global leadership not just in electric vehicles but in battery technology, power electronics, semiconductors, automotive software, design and R&D. That is a markedly wider target than any previous state industrial policy has set for the auto sector.

Chakan's decade-long journey to the Electric GLC

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Chakan, outside Pune, has been building vehicles for a decade. That the same facility now produces the Electric GLC — targeted at both Indian and export markets — is the milestone CM Fadnavis pointed to as a measure of Maharashtra's industrial maturity. The plant directly employs approximately 1,200 people, with the wider supplier and services network extending that number to around 18,000 jobs.

CM Fadnavis used the occasion to publicly urge Mercedes-Benz to go further: manufacture from Chakan for Asian and global markets, and prioritise Maharashtra for future battery technology, software engineering and mobility research investments. The ask was direct, and it was made with the company's own global leadership in the room.

Maharashtra's 20% share and the EV target by 2030

The numbers underpin the pitch. The Pune–Pimpri-Chinchwad corridor anchors a vehicle production cluster that accounts for more than 20% of India's total motor-vehicle output. Under the state's Electric Vehicle Policy — announced in 2021 — the government has set a target of 30% of all new vehicle registrations being electric by 2030. Supporting infrastructure already in motion includes fast-charging stations on expressways, a sustainable mobility corridor on both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Samruddhi Mahamarg, and incentives for battery recycling.

Deputy CM Sunetra Ajit Pawar attended alongside a high-powered Mercedes-Benz delegation: Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz Group AG; Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management; Jörg Burzer, Chief Technology Officer; Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India; and Manu Saale, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India.

Airports, a port, and the export corridor taking shape

Maharashtra is not relying on industrial policy alone. CM Fadnavis pointed to three infrastructure anchors that will deepen the state's global connectivity: the Navi Mumbai International Airport, the proposed Pune-Purandar Airport, and the Vadhavan Port. Together, they form the logistics spine that an export-oriented EV manufacturing hub needs — and their commissioning timelines will be closely watched by investors deciding where to place their next bets.

Maharashtra has long been India's manufacturing heartland. The Electric GLC rolling out of Chakan signals that it is now competing to be something more: the country's gateway to the global electric-mobility economy. The clock on that ambition has started.