According to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Reuters, India’s Reliance Infrastructure is thinking about producing electric vehicles and batteries and has brought on a former Indian executive from China’s BYD Co. to provide advice on its ambitions. According to the first source, the company, which is a part of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, has recruited outside consultants to carry out a “cost feasibility” assessment for the establishment of an EV facility with an initial capacity of roughly 250,000 vehicles annually, with plans to scale that up to 750,000 over a few years.
According to the source, it is also examining the viability of constructing a battery factory with a capacity of 10 gigawatt hours (GWh) and increasing it to 75 GWh over a ten-year period. Regarding its plans, which are being revealed publicly for the first time, Reliance Infrastructure did not reply to a request for comment. The company’s shares closed over 2% higher after the Reuters report was released, having previously dropped 0.2%.
A request for comment from Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, a former executive of BYD who has joined as a consultant to advise on the EV project, was not answered. Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Reliance Industries’ CEO and richest man in Asia, Mukesh Ambani, opens new tab, with interests in retail, telecoms, and oil and gas. In 2005, the brothers divided the family company.
In addition to striving to produce batteries locally, Mukesh’s company last week won a competition to be eligible for government incentives for producing 10 GWh of battery cells.
In a sector where electric vehicles (EVs) are still a niche product but are expanding quickly, the brothers will compete directly if Anil’s firm chooses to move forward with its plans. Less than 2% of the 4.2 million automobiles sold in India last year were electric versions, but the government hopes to increase this to 30% by 2030. It has allocated more than $5 billion in incentives for businesses that produce EVs and related parts, such as batteries, locally.
Reliance industry’s impact on Indian EV market
India’s battery industry is still in its infancy, but a few regional producers, such as Exide, opens new tab, and Amara Raja, opens new tab, have partnered with Chinese companies to share knowledge in order to produce lithium-ion battery cells there. According to the first source, Reliance Infrastructure is seeking partners, including Chinese businesses, and hopes to complete its plans in the next months.
With about 70% of the market, India’s Tata Motors opens new tab is the biggest player in the EV industry, while competitors like BYD and SAIC’s opens new tab MG Motor are catching up. Leaders in the overall car industry, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor, have announced plans to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025. After more than two years leading and founding BYD’s electric passenger vehicle business in India, introducing three EVs, and building a dealership network, Gopalakrishnan retired from BYD this year.
According to government documents that Reuters examined, Reliance Infrastructure established two new wholly-owned corporations with a focus on vehicles in June. “Manufacture, deal, in vehicles of every description and components for transport and conveyance using any nature of fuel” is the stated “main objective” of Reliance EV Private Ltd. Reliance Infrastructure has experienced financial flow problems and excessive debt levels recently. How the EV project will be financed remains unknown.
