EKA Mobility and Mitsui Join Hands To Manufacture EVs By CIOTechOutlook Team

EKA Mobility and Mitsui Join Hands To Manufacture EVs

CIOTechOutlook Team | Wednesday, 27 December 2023, 09:14 IST

To manufacture electric buses and light commercial vehicles in the nation, Pune-based EKA Mobility, Japan's Mitsui & Company, and the Netherlands' VDL Groep have forged a strategic alliance.

As per the agreement, Mitsui and VDL together will invest $100 million (approx Rs 830 crore) in EKA Mobility for ‘significant’ minority stakes. The resources will be utilized to scale up research and development and enhance manufacturing capacity, as per economic times.

EKA Mobility, which earlier this year inaugurated a production facility in Pune, intends to expand its production capacity to initially produce 6000 light commercial vehicles and 5000 electric buses annually. In the medium term, this would be increased even further to create 12,000 electric buses and commercial vehicles each, depending on what the market demands.

The founder and chairman of EKA Mobility, Sudhir Mehta, continued, "This is one of the largest and most significant partnerships in the new mobility segment in India." It aims to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative electric mobility solutions by combining the strengths and expertise of three major automotive conglomerates in Asia and Europe.

“Under the cooperation, EKA Mobility will receive strategic investments from Mitsui and VDL Groep, to develop a range of electric buses and light commercial vehicles for last-mile connectivity. These will be made locally, for sale in the country as well as in markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America.”

Under the terms of this collaboration, VDL Bus & Coach, a VDL Groep subsidiary and a top producer of electric buses and coaches in Europe, will assist EKA Mobility by providing knowledge transfer so that electric buses can be made in India for the Indian market. For its part, Mitsui will assist EKA in setting up systems and procedures as well as in exporting to certain emerging markets.