(Reuters) – JSW Group is set to invest 400 billion rupees ($4.81 billion) in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing projects in India’s coastal state of Odisha, as it takes on both domestic and international players in India’s small but booming EV market.
Electric models made up around 2% of India’s car sales last year, with Tata Motors dominating the market, but the government is targeting a 30% share by 2023.
JSW Group will invest 250 billion rupees in an EV battery manufacturing plant and an EV components plant in the first two phases of its plan, according to a statement on Monday.
In a third phase, the conglomerate plans to invest 150 billion rupees to set up an EV components manufacturing complex.
JSW Group and China’s SAIC Motor formed a joint venture in India in November, with a focus on green mobility and developing the electric vehicle ecosystem.
India has still to decide whether to cut import taxes on EVs under a proposed policy for carmakers that commit to local manufacturing, something that could ease Tesla’s entry into the market, a top government official told Reuters.
Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor have asked New Delhi to maintain the current policy, discouraging any reduction in taxes on hybrids, sources told Reuters earlier this month.
($1 = 83.1060 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Jatindra Das and Bansari Mayur Kamdar; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
