Tamil Nadu with twin industrial clusters, is India’s EV capital

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is keen to welcome EV companies to set shop in the state, said TIIC CMD Hans Raj Verma.

The much-needed impetus to EV business would align with the CM’s vision to make TN a $1 trillion economy by 2030, the official said. “TN is a vibrant economy and Chennai is the EV capital of India apart from being called the Detroit of Asia. The government welcomes EV companies to set shop and we are willing to assist them in every possible way,” he said at the EV Summit 2022 organised by the Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre of CII with the theme ‘Indigenisation of EV Supply Chain in India’ here on Friday.

Unlike other states, TN has two auto and electronic industrial clusters complementing each other. One of the clusters – the Sriperumbudur cluster has majors such as Hyundai and Foxconn while the second being the emerging Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri cluster with players like Ola, Ather, and more establishing their presence.

Rajesh Kumar Pathak IP & TAFS, Secretary, Technology Development Board, Department of Science & Technology, said “The Technology Development Board is looking to fund and support disruptive technology including the EV Space.”

“We welcome start-ups including startups in the EV domain to share their proposals as the Rs 1,000 cr Private-Public Partnership model for funding startups which would be launched shortly,” he added.

He further said the summit was organised in the backdrop of the Centre’s push to enhance national energy security, mitigate adverse environmental impacts from road transport vehicles and boost domestic manufacturing capabilities for Electric Vehicles.

Mahesh Babu, Chairman - EV Summit and Director-CEO, Switch Mobility said that “The Indian EV Industry has seen a fundamental transformation in the past decade and it is critical for India to further transform in the coming decades. The electrification of vehicles has started gaining momentum and has opened new mobility avenues for India to tap into. India is all set to position itself as one of the leading marketplaces for electric vehicles”.

V Sumantran, Board of Director, Switch Mobility, said “India is a very different market when compared to other countries. It has been repeatedly seen in many domains and will be seen in the EV space too. To build a stronger ecosystem, companies should talk to each other, resulting in an exchange of ideas. A consortia should be formed to help the domain grow at a faster pace.”