Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. of India proposes to invest 76.1 billion rupees ($920 million) in building what it claims will be the world’s largest electric car hub in order to localize the supply chain for cleaner transportation.
The 2,000-acre (809-hectare) center in Tamil Nadu, would be used to manufacture electric two-wheelers, automobiles, and battery cells, as well as house vendor and supplier parks, Ola said in a statement Friday. According to the company, the Indian business would commence mass production of cells from the hub later this year.
While localizing essential aspects of the EV supply chain, such as batteries, will make EVs more inexpensive, India only has a fraction of the raw materials required to meet domestic demand for lithium-ion batteries, which is expected to expand 100-fold by 2030, according to Crisil. A $2.3 billion government program to encourage advanced battery cell development will also benefit billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and bullion refiner Rajesh Exports Ltd., in addition to Ola.
Creating a dependable supply chain could aid Ola in resolving production challenges with electric vehicles. 1,441 electric scooters were recalled by the Bengaluru-based company after one of the bikes in the batch caught fire. The delivery of Ola scooters was initially delayed due to India’s reliance on imported parts, the supply of which was affected by a global chip shortage.
Ola debuted its first lithium-ion cell last year, built in its battery innovation lab in Bengaluru with a $500 million investment, the startup said in a statement. Ola plans to focus on building a local supply chain for materials and components such as motors, rare-earth magnets, semiconductors, lithium processing, and electrode manufacture from minerals such as graphite and nickel over the next decade.
