This comes as the company looks to expand in the south and western side of the country
Chhattisgarh-based Godawari E-mobility Pvt Ltd is looking to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing unit at Raipur and launch new products by 2023, for which it will invest up to Rs 150 crore.
“From January 2021, we have been setting up a manufacturing plant at Raipur in Chhattisgarh itself where we are planning to develop electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers both manufactured by us,” Godawari E-mobility Pvt Ltd Director Siddharth Agarwal told PTI.
This comes as the company looks to expand in the south and western side of the country.
Godawari currently operates a leasing business of electric three-wheelers under the Eblu brand in six states in the east and north India. It is now planning to launch its own high-speed electric autorickshaw and a couple of electric bicycles by January next year under the same brand.
Agarwal said, “In January 2022, we are looking to launch a high speed (electric) auto with a couple of e-bicycles to start with…and with that, we will be expanding towards the south and west India as well…these high-speed autos are actually a need of the south Indian market because of the distances and the capacities.”
The funding for the investment will be completed through internal accruals, he added. In terms of manufacturing capacity, he said, “We are looking to build up a capacity of one lakh two-wheelers and one lakh three-wheelers by the end of 2025 on an annual basis.”
To start with the company is looking at 20,000 units in 2022 and then gradually build up in subsequent years.
Agarwal said the company’s upcoming lithium-ion battery-powered electric three-wheeler is currently being tested by government agencies ICAT and ARAI for approval.
“Once we have all the approvals and everything is done then we will be planning a soft launch in January,” he added.
On network expansion, he said from January 2022, the company will be expanding its footprint towards South Indian markets.
“We are looking to expand to somewhere close to 40 to 45 cities from January to March in South India to promote this new (electric) auto. Currently, we already have a 40 dealers network which is already present in the six to seven cities operating in the north and east India. We have a total dealership network target of around 100 by the end of March 2022,” he said.
