In the past, we had anticipated that the industry size for FY2023 would be roughly about 600,000-700,000 electric two-wheelers, which was about 4-5% of the two-wheeler market. Last year electric two-wheeler sales were about 250,000 units, so even if we finish at 700,000 this year, there will be 3x growth. And from here on, doubling it to next year directionally seems logical.

We see the robust growth fuelled by several factors –

• Rising fuel prices and the country’s ecological commitments towards reducing carbon emissions.
• Government impetus in terms of giving subsidies, central government level as well as the state.
• With serious players coming in, the awareness of the industry will go up.
• Serious supply chain and better finances, a lot of the big banks are now ready to finance.

A lot has changed in the last 12 months. I think all these are positive indicators that are driving the demand.

Can you expand on your strategy – OEM for two- & three-wheelers and Greaves retail, a multi-brand retail chain?

We have made a strategic shift. Today, almost 64 percent of our revenue is from B2C business for a company that was doing 70-80?Bbusiness before. We wanted to move closer to the consumer and get lifecycle value extraction, meaning we’re not just going to sell engines but also vehicles. We will move people and cargo and give them an uninterrupted journey.

At present, we have three core businesses –

Engine Business – wherein we play in both auto and non-auto engines.

Greaves Electric Mobility – two-wheelers, e-rickshaw, and three-wheelers. Our three-wheeler business not only uses our own engines but also uses other companies’ engines. We look at it as an ecosystem partnership.

Retail – We are also accelerating the adoption of EVs in the country by creating an ecosystem at scale, spanning an extensive network of Greaves retail stores, EV financing schemes through Greaves Finance and an extensive after-sales and service network. We also have access to a range of 15,000 mechanics and 7,000 retailers.

What is the split between your engine revenues and other businesses?

In Q2 FY2023, the engine business did about close to 30,000 units. E Mobility products were about 33,000 units. The revenue split (percentage) – traditional engine business – 54% and GEM business is 46% respectively.

What is your outlook for the future of engine business given the growing interest towards alternative fuels?

We will continue with a multi-fuel approach and continue to explore more as we go into future technologies. Because the industry will probably move towards hydrogen or something else in the future. We will also continue to work on R&D in some of those areas in the near future. To your point, we are looking at multi fuels and LNG too.

What is the kind of investment you’re looking for in the next 3-5 Years?

Earlier, we had officially announced that we would invest about Rs 700 crore over the next 10 years on electric mobility. We have already earmarked about Rs 160 crore for immediate products just in the electric mobility space plus we have ongoing IC engine CAPEX.

The board continues to prioritise where we see the best RoI (Return on Investment). As of today, we have more than Rs 1,300 crore sitting on cash at a consolidated level.

EV start-ups are ready to sell their products through multi-brand retail, but legacy players want to use their own exclusive set-ups.

If you look at the West, whether it’s Europe or even in America, multi-brand automotive retail is already there. But the concept is new to India. The country has a lot of multi-brand retailers in other sectors, for example Croma. 

Ampere itself has dedicated exclusive showrooms and their experience centres but sooner or sooner, dealers are going to opt for a multi brand showroom concept. We will continue to operate in both models.

What is your capacity outlook and new launch pipeline?

We are bringing 5 new products at the Auto Expo 2023 – 2 products in electric two-wheeler category and 3 in electric three-wheeler category.

At Ranipet, we have ramped up capacity from 10,000 units to 20,000 units per month now, which means we have hit around 240,000 units annually on a single shift basis.

We can quickly double that capacity to half a million units a year by adding another shift. We are also working with our supply chain partners to make sure they are ready, because honestly, that was one of the constraints in the past.

Are the supply chain issues sorted now or there are some hiccups?

It’s definitely a lot better, as you know, we’ve had this chip and cell scarcity issue over the last year and a half, and commodity costs have been rising, and with capable suppliers coming on board and industry volumes picking up, we are seeing bigger automotive suppliers come in the market.

Would you be open to global alliances and tie-up?

We are open for both strategic alliances as well as inorganic opportunities.

How are you prepared for the new BS VI phase two norms, and will it lead to price increase?

Our engineering team has been working with our customers; we are working towards that timeline.

 The price increase will not be as incremental as it was from BS IV To BS VI. But to be honest, I think the pricing is still not figured out yet. As we get closer, maybe we can have clarity on that.