Here’s how EV makers are planning to leverage the booming market

Aiming at making most of the opportunities in the electric mobility sector, Electric vehicle (EV) makers in India are increasing investment to ramp up production capacity. The major EV makers including the conventional automakers and startups have pumped in over Rs 9000 crore in the past one year, according to a report in the Business Standard.

A study by CEEW Centre for Energy Finance estimated that the EV market could touch $206 billion (15.28 lakh crore) by 2030, provided India makes steady progress to meet its ambitious target of 2030. The overall investment required for vehicle production and developing charging infrastructure is pegged at $180 billion (8 lakh crore).

India’s 2030 EV target envisages that 70% of all commercial cars, 30% of private cars, 40% of buses and 80% of two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales in 2030 would be electric.

Higher investments due to surge in demand

The maximum investment has been made into building capacities for electric two-wheelers, followed by three-wheelers and light vehicles which are used for last-mile connectivity. During the first five months of the current year, EV manufacturers like Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Ather Energy, Ampere Vehicles, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor have witnessed a sharp surge in demand, although on a low base. Following the sharp rise in demand and projections, these companies are boosting their capacity.

Nagesh Basavanhalli, MD and group CEO of Greaves Cotton, which manufactures Ampere EVs, said that his firm has sold around 100,000 electric two and three-wheelers and is currently ramping up capacity in Tamil Nadu’s Ranipet. Basavanhalli added that the demand has outstripped supply and by end of FY22 it expects to have the capacity to roll out 1 million units.

Okinawa Autotech is the brand that sells the iPraise + and the Praise Pro electric scooters. It has a factory in Alwar where it produces 90,000 units per shift and that can be doubled with an extra shift, Jeetender Sharma, MD and founder of Okinawa Autotech said, as per the media report.

Sharma also informed that the company will be further investing Rs 250 crore for a bigger factory in Bhiwadi that will be equipped to manufacture 1 million units per annum.

There is healthy competition among Indian states due to the EV revolution, with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka bagging huge investments. According to industry estimates, Tamil Nadu is set to bag investment to the tune of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in the EV space, inclusive of original equipment makers, battery makers and a majority coming from electric two-wheelers, the media report added.

Karnataka on the other hand, bagged investments worth Rs 23,000 crore in this sector in 2020, out of which Rs 20,000 crore was committed by Elest Private Limited to set up manufacturing units for EVs and Li-ion cells and batteries.