Ola Electric signs MoU with Tamil Nadu Govt to set up world's largest EV ecosystem in the state.

Ola Electric has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu to expand its manufacturing capabilities across 2Ws, 4Ws, and cells. As part of the MoU, Ola will set up an EV Hub which will house advanced cell and electric vehicle manufacturing facilities, vendor and supplier parks, and the larger ancillary ecosystem for EVs at a single location.

The move is a major boost to the Indian EV industry, which has been struggling to gain traction in recent years. By bringing together manufacturing facilities, vendor and supplier parks, and the larger ancillary ecosystem for EVs, Ola is aiming to create an integrated ecosystem that will help to drive down the costs of production and increase the efficiency of the supply chain.

Located in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri Districts of Tamil Nadu, the Ola EV Hub will be the world’s largest EV facility at a single location, spread across approximately 2,000 acres.

The EV Hub will have manufacturing plants for electric two-wheelers, four-wheelers, and Li-ion cells. Currently, the company’s Future factory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu produces electric two-wheelers, and after being fully complete, it will be the world’s largest two-wheeler factory.

The upcoming car manufacturing plant will be spread across 200 acres of land and will have the capacity to produce 10 lakh cars per year. It will be India’s largest integrated and automated manufacturing plant.

Ola’s cell plant will be India’s largest Lithium-Ion cell manufacturing plant, with a capacity of 100GWh. This plant will be spread across 100 acres of land and will produce four different cell variants. The production is expected to begin this year. Ola also got the PLI scheme approval from the MHI. Ola Electric will produce the Li-ion NMC 2170 cell, which was unveiled last year.

In 2022, Ola also inaugurated its state-of-the-art Battery Innovation Center (BIC) in Bangalore, Karnataka which saw an investment of USD 500 million. BIC is one of the world’s largest and most advanced cell R&D facilities with more than 200 unique and cutting-edge lab equipment to cover all aspects of cell-related research and development. The world-class innovation center is equipped to develop complete packages of battery pack design, fabrication, and testing under one roof.

Over the next decade, Ola will focus on building local supply chains for new materials and components. This would include motors, rare-earth magnets, power electronics, semiconductors, lithium processing, and electrode production from minerals like Graphite and Nickel.

Overall, the MoU between Ola Electric and the Government of Tamil Nadu is a significant development for the Indian EV market. By creating an integrated ecosystem for the production of electric vehicles, the move is likely to drive down costs and increase efficiency, making EVs more accessible to Indian consumers. The move is also likely to create significant economic opportunities in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Speaking about this announcement, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, said, “Our Hon’ble Prime Minister has envisioned the next 25 years as Amrit Kaal in India. I firmly believe that this is our decade and we have a great opportunity to build our future. We are on the right track to become a global hub for EVs. At Ola, our aim is to localize all critical elements of the EV value chain. Ola’s EV Hub would bring the entire EV ecosystem under one roof making us a much stronger vertically integrated mobility company across 2Ws, 4Ws, and cells.”