Lord’s Mark Industries Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based manufacturer of renewable energy products, is creating a joint venture with Kerala state-owned Kerala Automobiles Ltd to expand its electric vehicle business and enter the EV infrastructure market.
Lords Automative, a Lords Mark Industries subsidiary, would own 74% of the joint venture business that will build a 1.5 million electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Kannur, with Kerala Automobiles retaining the remaining 26%.
According to Sachidanand Upadhyay, founder of Lord’s Mark Industries, the joint venture, KAL Lords Automative Vehicles Pvt Ltd, plans to create electric motorcycles, three-wheelers, as well as swappable battery stations and charging infrastructure.
“Over the next two years, the JV company will be investing Rs 200 crore in development of products and ecosystem,” he said. “Initially we need about Rs 20-30 crore… As we scale the business up, the business would demand about Rs 200 crore.”
By the end of 2022, the manufacturing facility should be operational.
In the following years, KAL Lords will introduce e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-three wheelers for both cargo and passenger use. These products will have a range of speeds from low to high, with a range of 80-130 km per charge.
The immediate goal is to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles in Kerala, with plans to extend across India and subsequently internationally, according to officials. It intends to export to Eastern Europe and Africa in the future.
They claim that KAL Lords can create and sell 40,000-50,000 electric vehicles in the next two years. It will perform R&D to produce technologically sophisticated and energy-efficient electric vehicles.
Lords Automative, which was founded in February 2019, had a revenue of Rs 22 crore at the end of FY-21. Around 4,500 electric vehicles were sold.
With the launch of the new JV, the company’s existing network of 300 dealers around the country will be expanded to 150-200 outlets. According to Upadhyay, these bases will be used as a swapping station for the company’s customers.
