JSW Energy plans to invest Rs 3,500-4,000 cr to develop electric cars

Declared formation of new subsidiaries for manufacturing vehicles; Q1 net declined 40% to Rs 217 cr

JSW Energy is planning to drive into the electric vehicle market, launching its first vehicle by 2020. 

In a notice to the stock exchanges, the company said its capital expenditure in the next three years would be Rs 3,500-4,000 crore. It would also venture into the energy storage market. 

During the announcement of the April-June 2017 quarter (Q1) results on Friday, JSW announced it would form subsidiaries to manufacture electric vehicles, electrical battery and energy storage systems, and charging infrastructure. In a statement, the company said its new project would incorporate the vision of “Make in India”. It would also assist in the creation of an ecosystem for faster penetration of e-vehicles in the country as well as charging infrastructure.

Recently, a number of companies have announced their foray into the e-vehicle manufacturing and charging stations sector. Thermal power giant NTPC announced it would create a battery-charging ecosystem across the country to promote e-vehicles. 

India’s central transmission utility, Power Grid Corporation, has already installed charging stations and started plying e-vehicles for employees at all its offices and site locations. The company will use its nationwide transmission infrastructure to install charging stations.

Among the private companies, Tata Motors is scheduled to unveil its first e-vehicle in September this year. Hyundai, which was planning to launch a hybrid car in the country, is now planning to introduce e-vehicles. 

Under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME), the government aims to have 6 million electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads by 2020.

JSW would also venture into energy storage systems, given the massive growth of renewable energy envisaged. “India has huge opportunity for energy storage systems not only for electric vehicles but for other static applications. JSW Energy plans to enter this business for both static and mobility applications, as it will be forward integration of its existing business of power generation to distribution,” said the statement. 

JSW posted a decline of 40.5 per cent in its profits for Q1FY18 to Rs 217 crore. Its total income from operations stood at Rs 2,232 crore against Rs 2,450 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This was a decrease of 9 per cent. 

The company said the decline was largely due to lower generation from the coal-fired plants and subdued merchant realisations. The board has also appointed Jyoti Kumar Agarwal, chief financial officer, as an additional and whole-time director for five years.