Anil Ambani’s company Reliance Infrastructure is considering plans to manufacture electric cars and batteries. The company has hired the former Indian head of China’s BYD company to implement its plans. According to news agency Reuters, the company has appointed external advisors to set up an EV plant with a capacity of about 2,50,000 vehicles per year. The company will work on manufacturing up to 7,50,000 vehicles in the coming years. The source said that the company is also considering the feasibility of building a battery plant starting with 10 gigawatt hours (GWh) capacity and increasing over a decade. However, Reliance Infrastructure has not responded to its plans. According to sources, Reliance Infrastructure is also looking for partners, including Chinese companies, and is aiming to finalize its plans within a few months.
Mukesh Ambani is also in the race
Let us tell you that Anil Ambani is the younger brother of Asia’s richest billionaire Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh’s company is already working to manufacture batteries locally and this week won a bid for 10 GW battery cell production subsidized by the government. If Anil Ambani’s group implements its plans, then Mukesh Ambani may face a challenge.
Reliance Infra in preparation
According to news agency Reuters, in June, Reliance Infrastructure has formed two new wholly-owned subsidiaries related to automobiles. One of these is named Reliance EV Private Limited. Talking about the stock of Reliance Infra, it closed up 1.55% at Rs 213.10. On April 4, 2024, the stock was at Rs 308. This is the 52-week high of the stock.
Electric car market in India
Let us tell you that the share of electric models in the 4.2 million cars sold in India last year was less than 2% but the government wants to increase it to 30% by 2030. It has budgeted more than $5 billion in incentives for companies manufacturing EVs and their components locally. Battery manufacturing is yet to start in India, but some local manufacturers such as Exide and Amara Raja have tied up with Chinese companies for technology to make lithium-ion battery cells in the country.
