electric vehicles: PMI Electro to set up commercial EV manufacturing plant in Maharashtra

Electric bus maker PMI Electro on Friday announced the setting up of its largest commercial EV manufacturing plant having annual production capacity of 2,500 vehicles at Chakan in Maharashtra. The facility, for which the foundation stone was laid on Friday, would be in conformity with all green building norms and be commissioned by August 2023, PMI said without disclosing the investment amount for the upcoming plant.

The 35-acre facility, to come up in MIDC, Chakan — a hub of automobile manufacturing near Pune — will employ 1,500 people, the company said.

PMI is already operating a manufacturing facility in Delhi national capital region with a production capacity of about 1,500 electric buses per annum.

The company said it has been bestowed with an order size of 1,000 electric CVs (Commercial Vehicles) under FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme of the central government.

With the upcoming facility in Pune, the total annual manufacturing capacity of PMI will grow to 4,000 electric CVs, the company said, adding that the new plant will be capable of manufacturing electric CVs in multiple variants as well as electric trucks.

“It gives us immense pride to lay the foundation to the next phase of our growth with the Pune factory. This will help us get closer to our dream of becoming a leading electric commercial vehicle player globally while contributing to ‘make in India’ and ‘make for India’,” said Satish Kumar Jain, Managing Director of PMI Electro.

Emphasising that the commercial vehicles powered by clean energy will play a major role in sustainable mobility, Jain said his company wants to actively contribute towards the future growth of this segment and achieve the sustainability target set out by the government.

The upcoming facility’s strategic location gives it access to the Nhava-Sheva port as well as the supply-chain ecosystem in Pune along with logistical advantage to cater to the major markets in west, central as well as southern parts of the country — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, among others, PMI said.

It also said that the plant is being designed to host the right mix of latest technology and cost-effective manufacturing practices to ensure best-in-class quality, optimised labour productivity and accelerated response to quick order and high asset turnover ratio.

PMI has entered into a collaboration with global commercial mobility giant Foton for technology and designing environment-friendly commercial mobility solutions in India, it said.

Incorporated in 2017, PMI claims it is the only original equipment manufacturer of all three models for standard, mid and mini buses in the country.