The Tata Group is exploring the possibility of building two battery cell factories, one in India and another in Europe, to supply Tata subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover.
P.B. Balaji, CFO of Tata Motors’ auto division, stated that the company plans to announce the details soon and emphasized the importance of localizing cell manufacturing in order to increase the use of local components in electric cars and develop a local supply chain.
Tata Motors announced that it has sold 50,000 electric vehicles in India to date and plans to launch 10 new electric models by 2026. The company projects that electric cars will make up 25% of total sales by 2025, currently it’s at 8%.
In addition to the passenger car market, Tata Motors is also involved in the commercial vehicle market, with large orders for electric buses from various transportation corporations in India recently announced through the Indian CESL promotion, including over 2,000 electric buses from the West Bengal Transport Corporation and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, and over 1,500 electric buses from the Delhi Transport Corporation.
The Indian car market, despite its large population, is relatively small. According to Reuters, electric vehicles made up only 1% of total car sales, which were around 3.8 million vehicles, last year. Companies active or entering the market include local manufacturers Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, as well as Chinese brands BYD and MG Motors.
India is working to increase the adoption of electric vehicles, with companies such as Mahindra and Tata working to establish production and make them more affordable. European companies, like Citroen, are also looking to enter the large South-East Asian market.
Electric scooters are also expected to be popular in India’s major cities due to their size and cost advantages. Ola, which launched its first electric vehicle in 2021, is also targeting European markets for its design and engineering, having established a center in Coventry a year ago.
