Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infra Eyes EV Foray, To Make Electric Cars & Batteries

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure is reportedly gearing up to foray into the electric vehicle (EV) segment and plans to manufacture electric cars and batteries.

The company is scouting for partners, including Chinese companies, and will likely finalise its plans within a few months, Reuters reported citing sources. 

Reliance Infra has roped in former BYD India executive Sanjay Gopalakrishnan as a consultant to advise on the EV project. Gopalakrishnan, who retired from BYD this year, set up the Chinese EV major’s passenger vehicle business in India, launched three EVs, and established a dealership network.

As per the report, the Reliance Group (not to be confused with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries) company has also hired external consultants to conduct a “cost feasibility” study for setting up an EV plant with an initial capacity of about 2.5 Lakh vehicles a year. The study also seeks to understand if it would be feasible to scale up production at the same plant to 7.5 Lakh units over “some years”. 

Additionally, Reliance Infrastructure is also looking at the feasibility of establishing a 10 GWh (gigawatt hours) battery plant that could be increased to 75 GWh over a decade. 

The company has reportedly floated two new wholly owned subsidiaries related to the automobile sector. According to the report, one of them is named Reliance EV Private Ltd, whose “main objective” is to “manufacture, deal in vehicles of every description and components for transport and conveyance using any nature of fuel”.

However, there is no clarity on how Reliance Infrastructure plans to fund its foray into the EV space as the company has struggled with high debt and cash flow issues in recent years. 

The Anil Ambani-helmed company’s EV plans came to light just a day after elder brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries won a bid to receive production-linked incentives (PLIs) to build a 10 GWh battery cell production unit. 

If Anil Ambani’s plans move ahead, this will pit him against his brother in the burgeoning Indian EV landscape. 

With this, Reliance Infrastructure could become the latest entrant in the EV segment, which is already populated by the likes of giants such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and global players such as MG Motor, BYD, Hyundai Motor. 

Even on the battery front, the company would be pitted against the local giants such as Exide and Amara Raja, who too have partnered with Chinese companies for technology to manufacture lithium-ion battery cells in the country.

However, the Indian EV space continues to see rapid adoption and is projected to be a $114 Bn market opportunity by 2029.