Tube Investments of India Ltd. (TII) is planning to unveil electric heavy commercial vehicles next month, followed by small electric tractors, said executive vice chairman Vellayan Subbiah.
This will be the Murugappa Group’s second electric vehicle venture, the first being an e-three wheeler under the Montra brand in September.
As part of its strategy to pursue opportunities in clean mobility, TII’s subsidiary TI Clean Mobility Pvt. Ltd. had acquired 65.2% equity stake in Gurgaon-based IPLTech Electric (IPLT) in September. The firm manufactures electric heavy commercial vehicles.
Initially, TII plans to sell a limited number of trucks – about 30 to 50 a month, Mr. Subbiah had said during an earnings call.
Stating that there had been tremendous response in terms of interest in the new product, he said the company was working on a new facility that would be ready by Q1 of FY24 and enable them to produce higher volumes.
In January, TII had acquired Hyderabad-based Cellestial e-Mobility, a firm that makes electric tractors.
TII would be unveiling small tractors either in the last quarter of this year or in Q1 of FY24, he added.
On whether heavy commercial vehicles and tractors should be brought under the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, he said, “Basically, these are conversations we had started with the government. It’s kind of curious as to why there is no FAME for heavy commercial vehicles.”
“We’re in active conversations with the government on this,” he added.
On financing for three-wheelers, he said, TII had three tie-ups, with banks and NBFCs, and more were in the pipeline.
For trucks, the company had arrangements for finance in place and was looking to develop two more, while for tractors, TII had two tie-ups.
K.K. Paul, MD, TI Clean Mobility, said the new vehicles would initially be rolled out in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and to other states in the first quarter of next year.
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