Greaves Cotton, an engineering company, is planning to invest in the manufacturing of electric vehicle battery in the coming years. The 160-year old company, is known for manufacturing diesel engines, pump sets, and generators.
Greaves is currently working on potential investment in a battery plant for electric vehicles for which it is building a local network of suppliers.
“As part of our next phase of plan for Ampere, we are committed towards building a robust local infrastructure by partnership or standalone investment, possibly in lithium-ion batteries as well, in a systematic manner over next few fiscals,” Nagesh Basavanhalli, managing director & CEO at Greaves Cotton expressed.
Significantly, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), sales of electric two-wheelers have increased from 54,800 units in FY18 to 1,26,000 units in FY19.
“We started on our strategic plan about 10 quarters ago. We have built up a good momentum and have grown eight quarters in a row. Good part about the last year was our strategic initiatives. Our engine business volume grew in spite of dip in the automotive market. This is because we diversified our engine portfolio to non-auto as well such as marine, defence, construction equipment,” Basavanhalli said.
About 10% of annual business in FY19 came from new initiatives that were undertaken in last two years, Basavanhali added. Greaves Cotton reported a growth of 11% in FY19 to ₹1,988 crore, he further added.
Where as, in August 2018, Greaves Cotton had acquired a majority stake of 67% in Ampere Vehicles which makes electric scooters.
Also, in the recent years, the company has diversified its business territory into marine, defence and construction equipment.