The state of Tamil Nadu is on a roll when it comes to investment in electric mobility. Ampere Electric, the wholly owned electric mobility subsidiary of Greaves Cotton, is the latest to do so. The company has announced a phased investment of Rs 700 crore over 10 years to set up a world-class electric mobility manufacturing plant in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu.  

An MoU to this effect was signed by the company with the Government of Tamil Nadu today.  At over 1.4 million square feet, this will be one of the largest state-of-the-art e-mobility manufacturing plants in the country. 

The plant in Ranipet will start manufacturing 100,000 units in its first year of operation with the potential to go up to one million units per annum. The facility will be operational by 2021, providing and will house an advanced automation process for superior manufacturing capabilities. 

Nagesh Basavanhalli, Group CEO and MD, Greaves Cotton (pictured above), said, “This is a historic milestone for Greaves Cotton, as we outline our investment to transform the clean mobility landscape in India.  This move aligns with our mission of decarbonising last mile transportation for a cleaner planet and uninterrupted mobility.”

His colleague, Roy Kurian, COO, E-Mobility Business (2W & 3W), Ampere Electric, added that the plant would will help expand "our offerings to an ever increasing customer base not just in India but also in other parts of the world".

This latest announcement from Ampere Electric comes on the back of a 35 percent growth in its sales volumes for Q3 FY21 amidst a challenging business environment triggered by the Covid pandemic. 

With a base of over 500 dealerships, 75,000 customers and 50+ B2B buyers, Ampere has emerged as one of the fastest growing EV brands in India.

Tamil Nadu developing an EV ecosystem
Tamil Nadu, a traditional automotive hub and known as the Detroit of India, is among the many Indian states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala to encourage adoption of electric vehicles and transform itself into an EV manufacturing hub.

On November 3, 2020, the Tamil Nadu state government passed an order for 100 % exemption of motor vehicle tax for battery operated vehicles for a two-year period – from November 1, 2020 till December 31, 2022. Two months earlier, on September 16, 2020, Tamil Nadu had announced its EV policy  The state government aims to build a comprehensive EV ecosystem for which it hopes to attract a cumulative investment of Rs 50,000 crore. Around 150,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the new ecosystem. 

In December 2020, Tamil Nadu bagged Ola Electric’s Rs 2,400 crore investment to set up a 2 million units per annum plant and earlier this month, Ather Energy’s new manufacturing facility at Hosur went on stream.