Ola Electric to invest Rs 7,614 cr to make cars, lithium-ion cells in Tamil Nadu - Deccan Herald

Home-grown Ola Electric Saturday pledged to invest Rs 7,614 crore over the next five years to expand its massive production unit at Pochampalli in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district to manufacture cells that go into electric vehicles (EV) and four-wheelers, providing jobs for over 3,000 people.

A Memorandum of Understanding between Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited and the Tamil Nadu government was signed on Saturday in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin and Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Electric at the Secretariat here. 

DH had reported in January that Bengaluru-based Ola Electric will invest anywhere between Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore to expand its Pochampalli unit over a period of five years. 

Of the Rs 7,614 crores, as much as Rs 5,114 crore will go into the cell manufacturing plant as Indian EV manufacturers make a push to reduce their dependence on imports from countries like China. The remaining Rs 2,500 crore will go into the four-wheeler plant which will have the capacity to manufacture 1.4 lakh units per annum. 

Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd (OCT) targets to install 20 GWH capacity Giga factory inside its existing facility in Pochampalli, 120 km from Bengaluru. Like the existing factory, the new units are also likely to employ only women.

The company’s application to manufacture EV cells under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for developing advanced cells was approved by the Union Government in 2022, which allotted it 20 GWh capacity.

Ola Electric Technologies Pvt Ltd (OET) will invest Rs 2,500 crore to set up the four-wheeler plant. The combined investments will generate jobs for 3,111 persons. 

“Tamil Nadu is known as the automobile capital of India, and it is only natural that we aim to be the EV capital as well. Ola Electric is one of the big names in the nascent sector and with a huge investment of Rs 7,614 crore, we believe the state is moving in the right direction,” V Vishnu, Managing Director & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu, told DH.

Vishnu said Ola’s expansion plans and the government’s projection of the Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri (HDK) region as a hub for EV is also part of the plans to decongest Chennai by taking industries of every kind to other regions of Tamil Nadu. 

“Ola will invest the said amount over a period of five years. The government is committed to supporting the EV industry to set up their shops in Tamil Nadu. We want HDK to be the hub for OEMs, components and those involved in setting up charging infrastructure,” Vishnu added. 

A government source said Ola Electric will be allotted additional land adjacent to its Pochampalli facility for the expansion plans, adding that the company’s vendors will also set shop near the plant, forming an ecosystem for the fledgling industry. 

Mass production of lithium-ion batteries, which is critical to electric two-wheelers, is likely to reduce the price of EVs making them affordable for all sections. 

Ola has already invested Rs 2,400 crore in the facility, touted to be the world's largest scooter factory employing only women. The unit currently manufactures Ola’s electric two-wheelers, whose sales have picked up in the past few months, especially in December. The company is also looking at investing in setting up a manufacturing unit for four-wheelers on the same campus.

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) has 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. 

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