Gujarat joins EV bandwagon

With Suzuki Motor Company's recent investment, Gujarat joins other states in proactively trying to woo investments in the EV ecosystem. A report by Brian de Souza.

- Brian de Souza

Suzuki Motor Company's investment of Rs 10,440 crore in Gujarat announced at the Indo-Japan Economic forum last month is set to give a huge boost to the state's credentials as the destination of choice for the automobile sector. If things work as per plan, Gujarat could well make key strides in India's emerging EV segment.

The state came into the limelight as far as the auto sector goes when it rolled out the red carpet for Tata's No project. In the years that followed, it was able to attract the big names such as SMC's contract manufacturing subsidiary, Ford India and MG Motor India which established itself in Gujarat by virtue of its takeover of the GM facility at Halol.

However, in the intervening year, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh made great strides in the EV domain both for their focus on manufacturer-based incentives as well as consumer ones, suggests a report by Colliers and Indospace entitled "Electric Mobility in Full Gear". But in the manufacturing arena, the stakes were not high for Gujarat.

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have consistently wooed the EV sector with incentives ranging from subsidies on electricity, capital investment and taxes. Tamil Nadu, for instance, provides a capital subsidy of 20 percent of the eligible investment over 20 years for EV battery manufacturing.

In its EV policy 2021, the Maharashtra says it aims to attract at least one Gigafactory for the manufacturing of Advance Chemistry Cells under the PLI scheme by 2023. In addition, EV startups are to be encouraged on a priority basis. While the state government has already signed an MoU with Causis e-mobility to set up an EV manufacturing unit, several OEMs have announced plans to foray into EV making including Bajaj Auto, and Kinetic. Auto parts companies like Pinnacle Industries have thrown their hat into the ring with a dedicated subsidiary for EVs.

Incentive packages