TVS, Simple Energy to launch e-scooter units in Tamil Nadu

TVS Motor Company will invest Rs 1,200 crore for setting up an e-scooter factory in Krishnagiri district

TVS Motor Company and Bengaluru-based Simple Energy on Tuesday pledged to invest over Rs 2,000 crore to set up e-scooter manufacturing units in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, in yet another boost to Tamil Nadu which hopes to emerge as an electric two-wheeler hub.

TVS Motor Company, which has a sprawling factory in Hosur located just outside Bengaluru, will invest Rs 1,200 crore for setting up an e-scooter factory in Krishnagiri district. Simple Energy will set up two units in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

The two companies -- TVS was represented by its chairman Venu Srinivasan -- exchanged MoUs separately with the Guidance Bureau of Tamil Nadu in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin at an Investors’ Conclave in Coimbatore on Tuesday. The day also saw Stalin inaugurating a massive e-scooter factory owned by Ampere in Ranipet district.

TVS said the investment of Rs 1,200 crore will be mainly for the design, development and manufacturing of new products and capacity expansion in the EV space. “This investment reflects TVS Motor Company’s continued commitment towards the State's overall economic growth as a responsible corporate citizen,” the company said in a statement.

With fresh investments from TVS and Simple Energy, the industrial town of Hosur and Krishnagiri district have emerged as one of the favourite destinations for e-vehicle manufacturers. Ola, a Bengaluru-based mobility firm, has already begun producing e-scooter at its facility near Hosur.

So far, five companies -- Ola, Ather, Sri Varu Motors, and Simple Energy, TVS and Ampere – have pledged investment in the electric vehicle sector in Tamil Nadu, which came out with an exclusive policy for the sector in 2019 under the then AIADMK government. The EV policy offers sops like 100 percent reimbursement of SGST till December 31, 2030, 15 percent capital subsidy and 100% electricity tax exemption till December 2025. It also provides 20 percent capital subsidy for special package for EV battery manufacturing till December 2022.

Not just the e-scooter manufacturing units, the state government wants the entire eco-system for electric two-wheeler manufacturers to be based out of this region and it is now wooing firms like Amara Raja and Exide to set up their units to manufacture batteries for e-scooters.

The industrial town of Hosur, which has been basking in huge investments in the past few years in varied sectors, is home to many two-wheeler majors and the state government wants to convert it into a hub for e-scooters, much like it transformed Chennai into India’s very own Detroit.

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