JOIN USOla to TN: Want to lease more land in Krishnagiri
After pledging to invest Rs 7,600 crore over the next five years to expand its sprawling manufacturing unit in Pochampalli, home-grown Ola Electric has expressed its intent to the Tamil Nadu government for acquiring 800 acres of land in Krishnagiri district for its vendors to set up their shops.
The Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer has also launched the process of taking on lease from the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) nearly 400 acres of land adjacent to its current plant for setting up a cell manufacturing unit and producing four-wheelers, sources in the know told DH.
The company, whose two-wheeler sales have picked up in the past few months, had in February signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the TN government to invest Rs 5,114 crores in the cell production unit, and Rs 2,500 crores to manufacture electric four-wheelers. Ola’s Future Factory in Pochampalli currently employs about 2,000 women and the company has said the fresh investment will bring jobs to another 3,000 people.
The cell manufacturing unit with a capacity of 20 GWh is likely to be the largest in the country as mass production of lithium-ion batteries, critical to electric two-wheelers, is expected to reduce the price of EVs making them affordable for all sections.
With Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri (HKD) region being projected as the EV hub by the Tamil Nadu government, Ola Electric wants its vendors also to be located close to its Future Factory. As the first step towards achieving this, Ola has informed the state government that it is looking at about 800 acres for its vendors in the Krishnagiri district.
“They might take on lease about 800 acres somewhere close to the current facility. Ola’s vendors setting up their shops close to its plant will be a huge boost for the fledgling industry as the region will not be a hub for manufacturing EVs but will possess the eco-system which will encourage others to follow suit,” a source in the know told DH.
The second source explained that the 400 acres of land that Ola plans to take on lease is located adjacent to the Pochampalli factory. “The company was given 500 acres of land in Pochampalli in 2021 when they pledged an investment of about Rs 2,400 crores. While they have some vacant land, they have requested another 400 acres for expanding the unit. The process of acquiring the land for Ola Electric has begun,” the source said.
According to data released by the government, Tamil Nadu accounts for over 34 per cent of total planned investments in the EV sector with not just EV firms but battery manufacturers like BYD, Grinntech, Lucas-TVS, and Li Energy setting up their units in the state. The state believes the new policy will attract more players in the EV sector to set up their shops in Tamil Nadu.
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 start-up Bharat Alt-Fuel (BAF) have 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.