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Home-grown Ola Electric is likely to invest at least Rs 10,000 crore over a period of five years in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district, which shares a border with Bengaluru, to manufacture lithium-ion cells that go into electric vehicles, and four-wheeler.
The cell manufacturing unit, approval for which was granted by the Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Wednesday, is being planned under the Union government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The fresh investment is part of Ola’s expansion plans at its massive unit at Pochampalli, in yet another boost to TN’s plans to transform Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri (HKD) region into a hub for electric vehicles and ancillary units. Ola’s Future Factory is located 120 km from Bengaluru and 90 km from Hosur.
Bengaluru-based Ola has already invested Rs 2,400 crore in the facility, touted to be the world’s largest scooter factory employing only women. The unit currently manufactures Ola’s electric two-wheelers, whose sales have picked up in the past few months, especially in December. The company is also looking at investing in setting up a manufacturing unit for four wheelers in the same campus, sources said.
“Ola Electric has proposed to invest anywhere between Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore in Tamil Nadu over five years. Much of this will go into the lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit under the PLI scheme. The remaining will be part of investment for four-wheelers, "two sources in the know told DH.
While Ola officially refused to comment on the story, inside sources said the company will be investing “huge” in the Pochampalli facility but refused to confirm the investment amount.
“The first lot of the proposed investment will be made very soon. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this (cell manufacturing unit) will be signed between Ola and Tamil Nadu government in the coming weeks,” a source said.
Another source said Ola Electric will be allotted additional land adjacent to its Pochampalli facility for the expansion plans, adding that the company’s vendors will also set up shop near the plant, forming an ecosystem for the fledgling industry.
Mass production of lithium-ion batteries, which is critical to electric two-wheelers, is likely to reduce the price of EVs, making them affordable for all sections. Besides Ola, Ather, and TVS Motor Company manufacture electric two-wheelers from their plants in and around Hosur. Simple Energy is building a massive plant including a testing track in Dharmapuri district, while Sri Varu Motors and another startup Bharat Alt Fuel (BAF) has pledged to invest Rs 250 crore in the region.
Ampere has already invested Rs 700 crore in its manufacturing unit in Ranipet in Tamil Nadu. Ola Electric had recently unveiled its first indigenously made lithium-ion cell with its founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, saying that the company’s most advanced cell research centre will enable India to “scale and innovate faster, and build the most advanced and affordable EV products in the world with speed.” The company, while announcing that its application for PLI was approved by the Centre, had said it will start producing its own cells by the end of 2023.
Ola Electric to invest over Rs 6,000 crore in Tamil Nadu plant
www.deccanherald.com
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