General Motors India is set to finalise a vendor from India for sourcing lead acid batteries for the lectric version of its Spark car, slated for launch in October. It had earlier indicated it planned to source these from China or Japan.
“We are in talks with leading vendors here and a formal agreement is likely to be signed in June this year for sourcing lead acid batteries,” informed P Balendran, director and vice president corporate affairs, GM India.
He added that the company planned to source the lithium ion batteries for the e-Spark also from Indian vendors. “These batteries are currently imported, as there is no manufacturer here. But, vendors have agreed to develop lithium ion batteries, too, in the long run.”
GM’s e-Spark, an electric version of its successful mini car, will offer two battery options, lead acid and lithium ion. While the company has entered into an agreement with Bangalore-based Reva for sharing the technology to produce the basic platform in the e-Spark, it is not using the battery technology developed by Reva.
When asked if the lithium ion battery would be imported for the scheduled launch in October, Balendran said there was enough time to work on that. “We can work out a suitable sourcing contract for the lithium ion batteries as well,” he added.