M& M to invest 900cr in ecars

M& M will be making additional investment in its electric vehicle segment to ramp up the production capacity over the next few years.

As part of its expansion plans, the company will invest over ` 500 crores in its electric vehicle ( EV) project at its Chakan plant under the new EV Policy of the government of Maharashtra and ` 400 crore in Karnataka. This additional investment will be utilized towards product development and capacity enhancement for electric vehicles and related components.

“We are not waiting for any policy to move forward. To be a pioneer, you have to create the road and we have to move forward. We have already invested ` 600 crore in EVs over the past five- six years and have announced our decision to invest ` 400 crore in Karnataka and ` 500 crore in Maharashtra over the next fourfive years,” said Pawan Goenka, MD, M& M while interacting with reporters on the sidelines of Magnetic Maharashtra.

Currently, the company has a capacity to manufacture 400 electric vehicles per month and the aim is to scale it up to 5,000 per month in another two years. “By September, we will reach a capacity of 1,500 vehicles per month including three wheelers and by December 2019, we will increase that to about 4,000 vehicles per month and then go on to 5,000 per month,” he added.

If everything goes well, he said the industry would become self- sufficient by 2024. Till then, it is important that the government continue with its current subsidy scheme, which is required for price competitiveness. “If the industry volume can reach approximately two lakh by 2024, that is enough to become self sufficient,” he added.