Suzuki Motor, Toshiba and Denso are set to enter a joint venture that will focus on producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles right here in India. It is being speculated that this move will significantly boost to the promising electric vehicle market in India.
The Company, Investment, Vision and Plans
“The joint venture will be launched this year itself with an initial investment of 20 billion Japanese yen, Rs 1,186 crore in INR and the production will start as soon as possible, told Suzuki in a statement today.
“New CO2 standards for automobiles are planned to come into existence. Right now the Indian automotive market where compact car models are significant, a suitable sustainable technology is required for them”, added the Suzuki.
The company is aiming to achieve through its joint venture:
- Stable supply of lithium-ion battery packs
- Contribute to government’s Make in India initiative.
- Massive Boost towards developing the state of electric mobility.
- Drive growth in the EV industry.
Suzuki will have 50 percent share in the joint venture, 40 percent will be of Toshiba and 10 percent of Japanese automotive components manufacturer Denso.
The founder of Reva electric and one of the pioneers of electric vehicles in India Chetan Maini said: I haven’t seen as much action happening on the electric vehicles front as he did in the last nine months.
Adding further to his given statement he said: A number of initiatives have been taken up by the car makers in India over the last six to seven years, but this is the first major initiative that is coming out of tier I, which is critical.”
Mini thinks that this joint venture will spur the others to invest in the future.
Indian Government and Electric Vehicles
The Indian Government is looking forward to promoting sustainable development and has an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million cumulative sales of hybrid and electric vehicles by 2020.
Incentives have been provided by the government of India for electric vehicles under the FAME India initiative since the electric vehicles have a really high price and with no charging stations available these vehicles’ selling rate came to a significant decrease.
By setting up local manufacturing unit for the EV batteries the cost of electric vehicles will come down as the cost of a battery adds to more than half of their cost. Right now batteries are mostly imported from China.
The partnership will bring in Toyota’s global leadership in technology and manufacturing, and Suzuki’s strength in making small cars, especially in India.
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