Ashok Leyland to invest ₹5,000 crore in battery localisation

“Our strategic partnership with CALB is a significant step towards creating a localised battery supply chain in India to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles in India and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, Ashok Leyland.

CALB has established several industrial bases in Changzhou, Xiamen, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hefei, Jiangmen, Meishan, Handan, as well as in Europe and ASEAN.

In the initial phase, the new battery business will focus on the automotive sector, and then move to non-automotive areas as well, including energy storage systems, said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO, Ashok Leyland.

While several automakers have poured money into battery manufacturing, localisation of the battery cell has proven to be a difficult task.

Under the government’s ₹18,100 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell, a cumulative capacity of 40 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery cell capacity was awarded to Reliance New Energy, Ola Electric Mobility and Rajesh Exports. All three missed the timelines set by the government to avail incentives under the PLI scheme.

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric, which was awarded 20 GWh capacity, is the only EV maker in India that has started producing lithium-ion cells in-house at its gigafactory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.