The electric vehicles bug seems to have bitten the State of Kerala, too. The Kerala government undertaking Kerala Automobiles Ltd (KAL) and the Mumbai-based Lord’s Mark Industries has entered into a joint venture (JV) for the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) that typically include e-scooters, e-bikes and e-three wheelers.
The first production facility of the JV will be set up at Kannur in Kerala at an estimated investment of Rs 20-30 crore. And commercial production will kick off from December this year.
Apart from e-vehicles, the JV will manufacture swappable battery stations and charging infrastructure.
As it is, KAL manufactures electric three-wheelers both for passenger and cargo segments under the brand name KERALA. Lord's Mark Industries makes renewable energy and healthcare products. Its newly-floated subsidiary, Lords Automotive, unveiled its electric scooters in October 2020 under the brand name 'Zoom' and 'Zoom Li'.
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JV to aim for exports, too
The joint venture company will focus on south Indian market to start off. Subsequently, the JV plans to expand its operations nation-wide by partnering with OEMs. In terms of exports, Eastern Europe and Africa will be the key markets for the company.
The JV, which would have majority stake by Lord's Mark, will also undertake R&D activities to manufacture energy-efficient EV products.
“Kerala was one of the first states in India to draft an e-vehicle policy and has been in the forefront of boosting clean energy initiatives in the country’s transport sector,” P V Saseendran, Managing Director of KAL said in a press statement.
“Through our JV with KAL, we aim to build a robust indigenous EV ecosystem and help in positioning India as one of the leading global manufacturing hubs for EVs," Sachidanand Upadhyay, Founder, Lord’s Mark Industries was quoted as saying in media reports.
An independent study by CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) has estimated that should India stay on course to achieve its electric vehicles (EV) ambition and targets by 2030, it would create a market opportunity worth $206 billion.
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