Gujarat EV story: Modi's home state leads his ambitious plan
The government is pushing towards making India a pollution free nation. Significant policies, such as upping the emission norms and setting up a 2030 deadline to get all plying vehicles electrified, have been devised to realize this goal. Currently, one state is in the lead of electric vehicles production, which will make this goal achievable. It is none other than PM Modi's Gujarat. Here's more.
Carmakers, operating in India, are slowly moving towards adopting electric and hybrid systems, keeping the government's policy in mind and Gujarat appears to be the focal point of manufacturing such systems. Recently, Suzuki Motor Corp said that it will invest a whopping Rs. 1,150 crore for a new unit in Gujarat, which will produce lithium-ion batteries along with two other manufacturers, Toshiba and Denso.
In this JV, Suzuki will be setting up the lithium-ion battery factory, Toyota-owned Denso will supply the technology and Toshiba will provide the required cell modules. As per Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC) Chairman, Osamu Suzuki, the firm will invest Rs. 3,800 crore on the plant, which will produce 2.5 lakh units annually. This plant would provide a big impetus towards India's EV push.
Now, Jindal Group-owned JSW Energy and Gujarat government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). As per this MoU, JSW Energy will set up a Rs. 4,000 crore electric vehicle-manufacturing plant in Gujarat. Principal Secretary of the industry and mines department of Gujarat, Manoj Das said that this plant will produce 200,000 electric vehicles annually along with batteries, electrical storage solutions, charging infrastructure etc.
Those, in the know, said that JSW Energy's EV car facility will commence commercial production from FY 2021. A state government official quipped, "The car will have high power, fast pickup will have ultra-fast charging due to which the time for battery recharge will be similar to filling petrol/diesel in regular cars. The running cost of the electric car will be less than Re.1/kilometre."
Reports also say that the Gujarat government has sealed an agreement with an undisclosed Chinese manufacturer to kick-start the production of electric bikes in the state. One official, refusing to mention the name of the company, involved, said to Mint, "The proposed factory will come up near Rajkot and will have a capacity to roll out 50,000 electric bikes annually."
China's SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd, one of the biggest automakers worldwide, is also planning to join the Indian EV race. The firm took over General Motors' Halol plant in Gujarat which, the American carmaker, planning to make an exit from the Indian market, was eager to sell off. SAIC Motor will launch its MG (Morris Garages) brand vehicles by 2019 from this very plant.
MG Motor India's executive director P. Balendran informed Mint, "Apart from SUVs and sedans, our product portfolio includes electric vehicles, hybrid, fuel cell among others. All this could be considered for Indian markets where we aim to roll out environment-friendly vehicles." Tata Motors, which aims to revive the Nano by taking out an electric variant of it, is also based in Gujarat.
