Tube Investments ropes in Korean firm for 3-wheeler EV technology

Company will start making and selling the vehicles by December 2021 or January next

Murugappa Group's Tube Investments India (TII) has said that it partnered with a Korean firm to design electric three wheeler. The Rs 38,000 crore Murugappa Group intends to enter complete automobile manufacturing through its group company TII, which is planning to make and sell electric three-wheelers.

During an analyst call, Vellayan Subbiah, managing director, TII said that the company will start manufacturing and selling electric three wheelers by December to January time-frame.

The technology for the EV three-wheeler, for which a prototype has already been developed, would be a combination of in-house as well as design support from a Korean company, he said without disclosing the company's name.

To a question on whether TII foray will lead to competing against some of company's customers in their existing businesses, Subbiah said, "....we do not see kind of too much against any of our existing customers especially not in the businesses that they are in, we do not supply too much into the three-wheeler space today."

Early this month, TII got Board's nod to foray into manufacturing and sale of three-wheeled electric vehicles with an outlay of upto Rs 200 crore. The company did not disclose other details including where the facility will come, when and other plans.

The Group company, TII has been one of the major suppliers in the country and TII's foray into complete auto manufacturing will also mark the Group's foray into complete automobile manufacturing.

In January 2019, one of the Group company Carborundum Universal Limited was one of the top 10 companies which got lithium ion battery technology from the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Murugappa Group has interest in agriculture, chemicals, engineering, finance and others.

TII, one of the Group companies, specialises in engineering, bicycles, metal formed products, and chains. The company reported a profit of Rs 107.07 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2020 as compared to Rs 78.27 crore, during the same period a year ago, an increase of 37 per cent.