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Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Corporation on Thursday said it is doing a study on the possibility of locally manufacturing electric vehicles in India with a complete ecosystem, including a gigafactory to make EV batteries.
The study was kicked off three months ago and is expected to be completed in nine months, Ashwani Gupta, the global COO of Nissan, told a select group of journalists.
The company will take a call on the EV strategy for India based on the outcome of the study.
Nissan’s view is that EV play requires a complete ecosystem and needs thorough planning with a possibility of complete localisation of parts.
“Electrification is not a one-day story. The most important is the battery manufacturing, along with battery charging infrastructure and the source of power. Also, EVs should be affordable to buyers. But, good to see that electric cars have started rolling out in India now. Of course, many challenges will be coming – cost of operations, cost of infrastructure and profitability. But all these will be stepping stones for EV evolution,” said Gupta.
Though Nissan is relying on its study for the India EV plan, Gupta is of the view that building competitiveness is key in this business. “India should not be thinking of CKD or CBU operations for EVs. Like Nissan Magnite and Renault Kwid, EVs need to be fully localised. Also, to achieve economies of scale, the EV plants should also be in a position to export.”
Small electric car
Nissan is reported to be developing a small electric K car in partnership Mitsubishi and that model may be considered for launch in India.
The above details were disclosed after the announcement of its V36Zero, a £1-billion flagship Electric Vehicle (EV) Hub creating a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem in Sunderland, UK .
Envision AESC, the battery arm of global green tech company Envision Group, will deploy latest technologies to monitor and optimise energy consumption, manufacturing and maintenance at its new gigafactory, enabling it to rapidly increase production and provide batteries to power up to 100,000 Nissan electric vehicles a year.
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