Bharat Alt Fuel to invest Rs.250 crore in greenfield EV unit

Bharat Alt Fuel, which focuses on alternative fuel technology and e-mobility, will set up a greenfield unit in Tamil Nadu at an investment of Rs 250 crore to manufacture electric vehicles, batteries, and motors, a top company official said on Friday.

Bharat Alt Fuel (BAF), a start-up, has signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to set up an electric two-wheeler manufacturing plant in Krishnagiri district, at a cost of Rs 250 crore. Construction of the plant is expected to start in six to eight months and will be partially operational by 2023.

The facility will have an initial production capacity of 25,000 units and will be scaled up to 100,000 EVs over the year. The facility has the employment potential of 3,000 jobs. 

Bharat Alt Fuel Executive Director Sayings

“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,” its executive director Sorubh Kumar Bharti said. The integrated facility will be upgraded to a fully functional battery and motor manufacturing unit, thus making the product 80 percent localized, Bharti added.

According to him, the plant will recruit 1,000 and be scaled up to 3,000 once the production has been increased. The vehicles would be sold in the domestic market and later be shipped to ASEAN, African countries, he said. The new manufacturing facility will be owned by Bharat Alt Fuel and enable the company to meet growing domestic and international demand for electric vehicles, he said. The company was also in the process of signing some international technological collaborations, which will enable the company to bring world-class products to the domestic market.

Bharat Alt-Fuel model would have a range of 100 – 120 km mileage on a single charge, depending on the terrain and the speed. The company depends on batter swapping and fast charging technology instead of setting up EV charging facilities. Sorubh Kumar said with a focus on southern markets, it will set up retail outlets and service centres in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The plant will recruit 1,000 and be scaled up to 3,000 once the production has been increased. The vehicles would be sold in the domestic market and later be shipped to ASEAN, African countries.