Greaves Cotton Is Looking To Foray Into EV Battery Manufacturing Space

Mumbai-based Greaves Cotton, which is known for manufacturing diesel engines, generators and pump sets, is now looking to shift focus towards emobility space. The engineering and manufacturing company is now looking to invest in making EV batteries and adding to the supply chain for electric vehicles.

Citing Nagesh Basavanhalli, the MD and CEO of Greaves Cotton, a Livemint report said that the company is considering investing in an electric vehicle battery plant. It is also planning to set up a local network of suppliers for the plant.

The development has been in the works for some time. Greaves Cotton had acquired 67% stake in Tamil Nadu-based electric vehicle maker Ampere Vehicles for $10.8 Mn (INR 77 Cr) in the first phase of acquisition in August 2018. It plans to acquire an additional 13% stake in Ampere in the next three years for $10.6 Mn (INR 75.5 Cr).

“As part of our next phase of plan for Ampere, we are committed towards building a robust local infrastructure by partnership or standalone investment, possibly in lithium-ion batteries as well, in a systematic manner over the next few fiscals,” the report quoted Basavanhalli as saying.

According to Greaves, Ampere’s market share has increased from 10% to 15% in the electric two-wheeler space after the acquisition.

Growing Focus On EV Infra Development In India

While the Indian government is aiming to make India a global leader in emobility, the EV space is still finding its feet in the country and is plagued by lack of infrastructure. The government is looking to deal with these issues through the FAME II policy, but companies have called for a framework to build up infrastructure for EV charging.

In April, the government policy think tank NITI Aayog directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to set up electric vehicle charging infrastructure at nearly 1K fuel stations across India.

The Indian government is also focusing on building indigenous EV standards. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) are developing an indigenous charging standard. This move will also help in reducing the cost of establishing charging stations for EVs in the country.