Bharat Alt Fuel to invest Rs 250 cr. for EV 2 wheeler plant – Fully make in India??

July 11, 2022 0 By The Editor

Bharat Alt Fuel to invest Rs 250 cr. for EV 2 wheeler plant

To invest Rs 250 crore in a phased manner to manufacture EVs, batteries and motors
Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu facility will be the hub for vehicle assembly, batteries and motors
Provides employment opportunity for about 3,000 people

Bharat Alt Fuel (BAF) has announced an investment of Rs 250 crore for setting up of a Greenfield facility in Dist. Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. This is primarily to manufacture Electric Vehicles (EVs), batteries and motors. This integrated facility will be built over a land area of 40,000 sqmts and commence production in the second half of 2023. The investment will support a project that will span over three years. Thereby help localizing the manufacturing process as part of the 100% ‘Made-in-India’ pitch of the brand. The facility is expected to register an initial production capacity of 25,000 units and scale up to 100,000 EVs over the year.

Mr Sorubh Kumar Bharti, Executive Director, Bharat Alt Fuel said

“BAF aspires to be a catalyst for change wherever it is needed, so it makes perfect sense that we are bringing electric two-wheelers to one of the world’s largest vehicle market. Along with the vehicle assembly, our new factory will be making all the critical components including batteries and motors. Establishing a global manufacturing footprint is a practical, natural step and enables us to grow our brand, scale our business, and address climate change through inspiring sustainable transportation.”

Construction of the plant is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2022-23 and will be partially operational by 2023. Initially, BAF will employ 1000 workforce and once the facility is fully operational it will have 3000 people which includes direct and indirect workforce. Vehicles in the initial phase will be slated for the market in India. However, BAF plans to export electric two-wheelers to other global markets like ASEAN & African countries.

Mr Bharti further said,

“Our investment at Tamil Nadu complements the virtuous cycle of hi-tech R&D competencies, high-efficiency engineering capabilities and a global distribution network which should leapfrog us into a market-leading position in EVs in India and overseas. We will also put our efforts towards meeting the $1 trillion state economy target set by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Shri MK Stalin.”

Bharat Alt Fuel to invest Rs 250 cr. for EV 2 wheeler plant

The new facility will be fully owned by BAF and enable the company to meet growing domestic and international demand for electric vehicles. BAF is also in the process of signing some international tech collaborations. This will enable company to bring world class products in domestic markets. BAF also expects to benefit from the availability of:

Competitively-priced commodities and energy
A newly emerging domestic supply chain, and
a factory location that facilitates global logistics

Other than battery there are various differentiation factors of the product which are as follows:

High pay load capacity (upto 250 Kgs)
Battery Swapping or fast charging enabled
More than 25 ° gradeability
CVT Transmission
Up to 120 Kms range in single charge

The integrated facility will upgrade to fully functional battery & motor manufacturing unit as well. Thus, making the product more than 80% localized.

Bharat Alt Fuel will eye minimum 15% export orders in the beginning itself. The targeted markets in India in Stage I of operations will be Western & Southern markets like:

Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu
Karnataka
Telangana
Goa &
Andhra Pradesh

Additionally, the company is expected to launch its first retail outlets in Chennai & Bangalore by early 2024. The export orders will be aimed at South Asian countries. The company is keen to offer its product through authorized channel distributors & will also introduce sharing mobility in urban zone.

About Bharat Alt Fuel:

Established in December 2020, the company is registered under companies act 2013. Bharat Alt fuel is a start-up recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which is a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India. Recently the organisation was also ranked amongst top 10 start ups of India (Industry Outlook).

Bharat Alt Fuel will make electric two wheelers with the latest battery technology which will be more safe & efficient. The LFP battery technology of our products is superior in various aspects like

Thermal & chemical stability.
More power over a Shorter Period.
Enable the vehicle for fast charging.
Offers more battery cycles.
Longer calendar year.

To keep powertrain effective & efficient the BMS is being developed in-house so as to have complete control over all the aspects of the hardware & software. Also, the IOT enabled product will be one of its kind as it gets available at sales points.