Last updated: Feb 2020 by Narasimhan Santhanam
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t is a part of EV Next’s EV Perspectives.
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Introduction
India’s electric vehicle industry is still at its nascence when compared with other international markets such as U.S., China & Europe etc. China, being the leader held nearly 50% share of the global electric vehicle market during 2016, with India accounting for just a share of 0.1%. The Union Budget for FY 2017-18 has allocated INR 795 crores for developing EVs.
In the Indian electric four wheeler segment, SMEV has stated that as of 2017, Gujarat, West Bengal, UP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are the top five states to retail electric vehicles in India. Two-wheelers are set to outpace four-wheelers in India’s ambitious drive towards all-electric mobility, as all top scooter and motorcycle manufacturers have lined up their clean-energy products for launch starting 2018. The overall electric vehicle market for storage in India is likely to be 4.7 GWh in 2022. Over 50% of the market in 2022 will be driven by e-rickshaw batteries
Investments
Ather Energy- Godrej Nature’s Basket (March, 2019)
Ather Energy tied up with Godrej Nature’s Basket to expand AtherGrid, the company’s EV fast-charging public network’s presence in India.
The 35 locations that Godrej Nature’s Basket operates across the country, will host AtherGrid Points, The electric two-wheeler manufacturer signed an MoU with Godrej Nature’s Basket for a pan-India association that will see the company set-up its charging points at various outlets of the grocery and fresh-food store, the first of which is up and running at the Sadashivnagar outlet in Bengaluru.
Innolia Energy (Sep, 2019)
Innolia Energy to invest Rs 225 crore in solar modules, electric vehicle products manufacturing. US-based Innolia Energy on Monday said it has launched a project entailing investment of Rs 225 crore to set up a manufacturing facility in Hyderabad for solar modules, lithium battery and electric vehicle (EV) products.
According to the Company statement, the manufacturing unit is India’s first fully integrated solar and lithium battery pack manufacturing company providing technology integration solutions for general-purpose or application-specific renewable markets.
Innolia Energy was founded by Arvind Reddy, who has over 27 years of experience in the industry and has worked in companies such as Altera/ Intel/Cirrus Logic/SST/Microchip. As an investor and entrepreneur, he has been involved in successful startups, and is currently focused on developing chip and system-level solutions in power and renewable sectors.
CNH Industrial – Nikola Corporation (September, 2019)
CNH Industrial announced its intention to enter into a strategic and exclusive Heavy-Duty Truck partnership with Nikola Corporation, based in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., to accelerate industry transformation towards emission neutrality of Class 8 / Heavy-Duty Trucks in North America and Europe through the adoption of fuel-cell technology.
CNH Industrial will take a $250 million strategic stake in Nikola as the lead Series D investor, comprising $100 million cash and $150 million in services, such as product development, manufacturing engineering, and other technical assistance, as well as supply of certain key components to accelerate the production timeline of the Nikola TWO and Nikola TRE. Pre-money valuation was set at $3 billion. Nikola anticipates raising over $1 billion in the D round, granting approximately 25% ownership to new investors and business partners, including CNH Industrial.
IVECO and FPT Industrial, the commercial vehicle and powertrain brands of CNH Industrial respectively, will assist in engineering and manufacturing expertise to industrialize Nikola’s fuel-cell and battery electric trucks. The following vehicles will benefit from this partnership: the Nikola ONE, a NAFTA- compliant Class 8 sleeper truck; the Nikola TWO, a NAFTA-compliant Class 8 day-cab truck; and the Nikola TRE, a European compliant cab-over Heavy-Duty Truck.
Hero Cycles to invest around Rs 1,000 crore in e-cycles business. (September, 2019)
Hero Cycles is planning to invest around Rs 1,000 crore to support its e-cycles business. The money will be utilized for strengthening global design and R&D and for setting up a manufacturing unit. A part of the investment might also be used for building a strong retail distribution network.Recently, the company partnered with Japan’s Yamaha Motor Co Ltd to launch the ‘Lectro E-cycle powered by Yamaha’, India’s first center motor E-cycle, which is priced at Rs 1.35 lakh, and targets adventure e-cycling in India.
Loop Energy Announces Investment by Cummins (September, 2019)
Loop Energy, a leading provider of fuel cell electric range extenders for medium and heavy-duty transport applications, announced today that the company has received a cash investment from Cummins Inc.
Loop Energy will also supply Cummins with range extender systems for incorporation into demonstration trucks. Loop’s no-compromise module provides a breakthrough in terms of cost and power density, allowing truck operators to transition to zero-emissions without an impact to cost of ownership.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors (September, 2019)
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have made a strategic investment in Ionity of Germany, the largest EV fast charging infrastructure developer in Europe.
The two companies have signed an investment and strategic business cooperation contract with Ionity to secure a 20 percent stake in it. Europe is the largest electric vehicle market for Hyundai and Kia. In the first half of this year, more than 23,000 units of their EV models were sold in Europe, up 200 percent from a year earlier. The European EV market is continuing to enjoy rapid growth as it is expected to grow to about 300,000 units this year from about 210,000 units last year.
Sona Comstar (August, 2019)
Blackstone, the US private equity firm, has completed the acquisition of a 33 per cent stake in Sunjay Kapur-led Sona BLW and is set to merge the auto parts company with Comstar Automotive Technology, its other subsidiary in India, to offer products for conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles.
The combined company will be called Sona Comstar. ETAuto first reported this merger in November last year.
Blackstone had acquired an almost 100 per cent stake in Chennai-based auto components maker Comstar for about Rs 1,000 crore and the merger with Sona BLW will enable it to synergise the two acquisitions.
A drop in car sales in India and the upcoming switchover to electric vehicles have made growth in the domestic auto components industry uncertain. Sales of passenger vehicles in India have declined for nine consecutive months and a 31 per cent fall in July was the worst in almost two decades.
Kapur will hold 35 per cent in Sona Comstar, while Blackstone will have a 65 per cent per cent stake. The merged entity will include Sona BLW’s European subsidiary.
Comstar’s products include gear for hybrid and semi-hybrid vehicles and starter motors for conventional engines. The company, with an installed capacity of over 6.8 million electric motors, operates manufacturing facilities in India, the US, Mexico and China.
Sona BLW, with a consolidated turnover of $400 million, designs and manufactures precision-forged bevel gears and differential assemblies for passenger, commercial and off-highway vehicles, including electric vehicles. The company has six plants in north and west India and its European subsidiary operates three facilities in Germany and one in Hungary.
SHADO Group to invest $10 million in electric 3-wheelers. (Aug, 2019)
Singapore-based SHADO Group plans to invest $10 million (approximately Rs 70 crore) in its Pune factory to produce electric three-wheelers, the first of which will be unveiled in Bengaluru later in the day. The three-wheeler, branded as ERICK, is among the latest electric vehicle (EV) technologies based on affordable low-voltage, high-performance instantly-charged transportation mode. The group, which has its research and development centers in Singapore, Malacca and Bengaluru, is in the process of starting production of 1,000 units per month from Pune this month for India. The zero-emission three-wheeler is designed to work in urban environment, he pointed out. ERICK has a range of 70-km per charge and is capable of operating at high ambient temperatures and exceeds gasoline.
CECRI to make EV batteries to invest ₹100-cr (July, 2019)
The Tamil Nadu-based Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), a research institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has decided to set up a factory to produce batteries for electric vehicles.
It plans to invest ₹100 crore to set up the unit at its campus in Taramani, Chennai. CECRI has decided to manufacture a product on its own. The funds for the plant, however, will come from CSIR. CECRI has decided to manufacture a product on its own. The funds for the plant, however, will come from CSIR. CECRI could beat Chinese players on prices. While prices are ruling at $220/kW, CECRI can sell for $190. CECRI is also in the process of getting technical help from Fraunhofer Institute of Germany to improve battery performance and with the manufacturing unit.
Ola Electric – SoftBank (July, 2019)
Ola Electric Mobility has raised $250 million (Rs 1,725 crore) from Japanese investment heavyweight SoftBank, valuing the company at close to $1 billion. In March, ride-hailing app Ola had spun off its electric vehicles business into a separate entity. SoftBank will end up owning about 22-24% stake in Ola Electric
KYMCO – 22Motors (Jun, 2019)
KYMCO Officially Enters India Market with 22KYMCO Brand Launch ‘-.KYMCO, a leading professional powersports brand, recently announced the official launch of the new brand 22KYMCO through a deepened partnership with Indian smart electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer 22Motors, building on a strategic cooperation established last year. The new brand launch from the two partners provides Indian consumers with reliable EVs, and represents a milestone for KYMCO as it accelerates its globalization process and promotes its industrial layout in India. In the joint venture KYMCO is investing $50 Million and 22Motors is supposed to invest $1.6 Million.
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, and an early backer of Ola, has invested an undisclosed amount in the ride hailing platform’s electric mobility business as part of its Series-A round. Ola Electric had earlier raised about Rs 400 crore from Tiger Global and Matrix India. Ola has been actively pushing with the government initiatives pertaining to alternate technologies for EV as it plans to double down its focus on manufacturing and launching two- and three-wheeler electric vehicles for commercial use.
Blu Smart Mobility – JioMoney (March, 2019)
Blu Smart Mobility is in talks with Jio Money, the digital wallet of the RIL group, and Reliance Jio, for data services across its offerings. Backed by Gensol, one of the largest solar energy service players, Blu Smart launched operations earlier this year, with a fleet of 100 Mahindra e-Veritos. It is in talks with Coke to offer its seamless transportation solutions. The company also has a partnership with PayTM for online cashless payments in the National Capital Region (NCR) market. Through a tie-up with Jio, it wants to provide content, entertainment, and Wi-Fi to its clients.
Hyundai Motors to sign MoU with Tamil Nadu government (Jan, 2019)
Automobile major Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) would sign a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government in January 2019 to take up Rs 7,000 crore expansion work at its facility in Chennai. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu had assured them that the government would consider their request for providing them tax incentives for the expansion work. Nearly 700 new jobs would be created after the expansion
KETO to Invest $10 Million in India (December, 2018)
KETO, a joint venture between India’s ETO Motors Pvt Ltd and Hong Kong-based KYTO Green Technologies Limited, has announced an investment of $10 million in India to manufacture electric auto rickshaws. The company announced its investment plan at the ongoing 8th Eco-Friendly Electric Vehicles Expo in India. The company, which showcased its flagship product for the first time at the expo, said that it aims to launch its Electric Auto rickshaw variants in the country that includes – Kyto 3, Kyto 5 and Kyto Cargo, catering to different segments in the Indian market.
KETO is likely to invest USD 10 million in the coming two years, and the funds will be utilized for setting up a new plant with a capacity of 50,000 units annually, and towards research & development of the product. The main focus is to make these vehicles accessible and affordable to all, so in addition to retailing, KETO is considering leasing options.
Hero Electric
In Feb 2018, Hero Electric announced that it has been betting big on the electric two-wheeler industry going through a massive change in the next couple of years.
The company said that it has an ongoing development program in the e-scooter segment to produce and launch several models in the next few years. With this in mind, the company had earmarked Rs. 700 crore in 2018 to develop its product line-up and assembly set-up in India to service a growing customer base across the country.
In India, the focus would be on electric scooters and the company has a five-year window in mind, since it’s a rapidly evolving industry.
The focus of the company, in 2018, would be on the development of electric scooters for the domestic market. But they also have plans to introduce electric motorcycles in the future.
In October 2016, Hero MotoCorp took a 26-30 percent stake in Ather Energy, investing Rs. 180 crore, which was the bulk of an overall Rs. 205 crore investment from the bike maker. The money from Hero would go towards funding research and development, product testing, building a network of charging stations and expanding the product portfolio.
Lohia Auto
Diversified Lohia Group, in 2015, announced that it was expanding its electric vehicle portfolio with plans to launch two new two-wheelers and a three-wheeler to cash in on the government’s FAME India scheme.
Bullish on the segment, the group was eyeing a turnover of Rs 300 crore from the automotive division – Lohia Auto Industries in the next three years (2016-18).
The group, which had a turnover of around Rs. 600 crore, had already lined up an investment of around Rs. 120 crore to spruce up its manufacturing facility in Uttarakhand.
The company had also planned to introduce two new electric two-wheeler models, two more variants of electric rickshaws and a new electric three-wheeler, besides cruisers and bikes from the stables of 50:50 JV with US-based UM Motorcycles.
TVS Motors
Lucas TVS, in Jan 2018, announced that in the next three years, the company would invest about Rs. 200 crore. Its investments would get routed more towards research and development, and enabling partnerships with technology institutions to create intellectual property.
Mahindra
In Feb 2018, Mahindra Group announced Rs. 900-crore investment (Rs. 400 crores in Karnataka and Rs. 500 crores in Maharashtra) in electric vehicles over the next four years, which should ramp up its first installed capacity to 5,000 units a month.
The company said that they had already invested Rs. 600 crore in EVs over the past five-six years. This new investment would be used for capacity, technology and product.
It is to be noted that in 2017, Mahindra and Mahindra had announced that it would be investing almost eight times the money – Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 4,000 crore – in the EV business in the next three to five years.
This investment would be in four parts, first investment would be in research and development – battery technology, motors, power electronics etc., for which Mahindra had already committed Rs. 600 crore in 2016-17 and the second on capacity expansion. The third would be electrifying Mahindra’s product portfolio and fourth on developing dedicated electric platforms.
Tata Motors
In Feb 2018, Tata Motors announced that it was committed to future mobility with significant investments being made in the electric, passenger and commercial vehicles segments. The company also said that it would launch six new products in this segment.
Hyundai
In Jan 2018, South Korean auto major Hyundai revealed that the company would launch its first electric vehicle for the Indian market in 2019. The company also announced that it plans to invest over Rs. 6,300 crore in India in the next three years on new products, development of powertrain and setting up of a new office building.
Ashok Leyland
In Feb 2018, Commercial vehicle (CV) major Ashok Leyland announced that it was planning to invest around Rs. 1 billion in the electric vehicle (EV) technology over the next two-three years. The company also showcased the prototype of its first EV product at the Auto Expo 2018 in New Delhi.
In the EV technology, the company would focus on three segments – swappable technology, for which it has tied up with Chetan Maini-promoted SUN Mobility for short-distance services like the State Transport Undertakings (STU), long-range and long-range fast vehicles. It would develop batteries and solutions in collaboration with partners. It would also work with agencies to set up charging infrastructure.
Around three-four STUs would be expected to come up with tenders for 50-100 buses in a phased manner and the company would participate in some of these bids. Apart from STUs, the other focus would be on private and school buses.
Goldstone
In Dec 2017, Hyderabad-based insulator maker Goldstone Infratech Ltd. announced that it was planning to set up a Greenfield electric bus manufacturing facility in the south with an investment of Rs. 500 crore.
The company said that the investment might be scaled up or down depending on demand.
Honda
Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. announced in 2017 that it had planned to set up a lithium ion battery manufacturing unit in India as it sought to tap the emerging, potentially lucrative electric vehicle opportunity in the country. Honda Cars India Ltd., the Indian unit, would identify the type of electric vehicles the company would want to make locally.
JBM Solaris
In 2016, JBM Solaris – a joint-venture between Indian auto component maker JBM Auto and Polish Solaris Bus & Coach – announced that it would invest Rs. 300 crore over the next 2-3 years to engineer, design and develop full electric and hybrid buses in India.
Solaris would bring its domain expertise in developing electric buses, while JBM Auto would provide its in-house engineering & design expertise, market know-how along with the manufacturing facilities and infrastructure.
JSW Energy
As of 2017, Mumbai-based JSW Energy, had planned to invest Rs. 40,560 million in electric cars, batteries and charging infrastructure.
Force Motors
During the end of 2017, the company announced that its first electric vehicle was under trial run. The company also said that it had planned to spend 7-8% of CAPEX on R&D, a large part of which would be directed towards the development of EVs.
Maruti Suzuki
As per 2018 data, the company has invested INR 12 billion to set up a new plant for manufacturing lithium ion batteries, which is a key component in the electric vehicle.
Vikas Group
Faridabad based automotive components vendor, The Vikas Group, which made its mark as a supplier of cooling systems to Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker, announced in 2018 that it was aligning with the auto major’s plan to produce electric vehicles.
The Rs. 2,000 crore group, which has a partnership with Japanese vehicle air conditioning major Sanden, is allocating over 30% of its Rs. 500 crore capex towards development of electric and hybrid vehicle solutions. Apart from setting up a dedicated electronics team, which would play a role in designing solutions for EV systems, the company is allocating significant resources on R&D or capability building in order to offer cost-effective and efficient solutions to ensure affordability of e-vehicles.
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See also the related blog posts
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- Prices of Electric Vehicles in India – Cost of Electric Scooter, Cars, Electric Buses – Tata, Mahindra, Hero, Ather, Ashok Leyland
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