THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Automobiles Limited and Mumbai-based Lord’s Mark Industries will jointly set up an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Kannur. KAL managing director P V Saseendran and Lord’s founder Sachidanand Upadhyay signed a memorandum of understanding for the venture — named KAL Lords Automative Vehicles — here on Monday.
The estimated investment for the project is in the Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore range. The plant will start commercial production by December this year. Lords Automative, a subsidiary of Lord’s Mark Industries, will have a majority stake, at 74%, and KAL 26%.
Besides e-bikes, e-scooters and e-three wheelers, the joint venture will also manufacture swappable battery stations and charging infrastructure. The annual capacity of the unit would be 1.5 million electric vehicles, including two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The new company will also undertake research and development activities to manufacture technologically advanced and energy-efficient electric vehicle products.
Plans are on to develop state-of-the-art technology to drive innovation and efficiency across the EV value chain. The vehicles will range from low speed to high speed and with a range of 80 to 130km per charge.
“Kerala is 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. Through our strategic partnership with Lord’s Mark Industries, we will be playing a pivotal role in accelerating the shift towards e-mobility and ensuring sustainable development of the state,” Saseendran said.
“Through our joint venture 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. Through this collaboration, KAL will be in an improved position to leverage the Pan-India distribution network of Lord’s Mark Industries to expand their market scale and distribution outreach,” said Upadhyay.
A study by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance estimated that should India stay on course to achieve its electric vehicles ambition and targets by 2030, it would create a market opportunity worth USD 206 billion. Established in 1978, KAL manufactures electric three-wheelers for passenger and goods traffic under the brand name KERALA.
It also manufactures high-precision aerospace components for the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit. Lords Automative had launched its e-scooters in October 2020 under the brands ‘Zoom’ and ‘Zoom Li’.
Source: newindianexpress.com
