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☆ India 'confident' new EV policy measures will allow more foreign players to enter market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"It was meant for all global EV manufacturers and domestic manufacturers." While much of the "buzz has been around Tesla," Singh underscored the initiatives will also attract other foreign automakers, highlighting that Vietnam's leading EV maker "VinFast has already announced its intent." In February, VinFast broke ground on its integrated EV manufacturing facility in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu. As competition in India's EV sector remains limited, the entry of major players like Tesla, will level the playing field, MG Motor India's CEO Emeritus Rajeev Chaba told CNBC. Robust trajectoryAccording to Counterpoint Research, India's EV sales nearly doubled in 2023, driven by rising consumer interest and government initiatives, among other factors.

Persons: Rajesh Kumar Singh, CNBC's, Singh, VinFast, Elon Musk, Narendra Modi, Tesla, Rajeev Chaba, EVs, Modi, Ola, Bain Organizations: Department, Promotion, Industry, Internal, EV, CNBC's Sri, Motor, CNBC, Counterpoint Research, International Energy Agency, TVS Motor, Bajaj, Ampere, Bain & Company Locations: India, Tamil Nadu, China

[1/6] Ola electric scooters are seen outside the Ola Electric Service Centre, in Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, October 25, 2023. Aggarwal's Ola Electric, which he likens to Tesla in the West, is zipping towards a stock-market listing after going from zero to 338,000 e-scooter sales in about two years. But he acknowledged service capacity issues and said Ola was "aggressively" bolstering its service network by adding 100 new centres and hiring more technicians. 'TESLA FOR WEST, OLA FOR REST'Aggarwal often declares, "Tesla is for the West, Ola for the rest", and he's a man in a hurry. "Electric vehicles are new to people so they aren't aware of how to ride the vehicle to maximise optimal output," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, it's, Elon Musk, Aggarwal's Ola, Tesla, Ola, Devendra Ghuge, Aggarwal, Ola EVs, Ravi Bhatia, Bhatia, Japan's SoftBank, Ronald Radhakrishnan, Koradia, Riddhima Talwani, Aditi Shah, Rishika Sadam, Sriram, Arpan Chaturvedi, Anushree, Pandya, Francis Mascerehnas, Varun Vyas, Munsif, Jatindra, Saurabh Sharma, Sumit Khanna, Jose Devasia, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Ola Electric Service Centre, REUTERS, Staff, Reuters, JATO Dynamics, WEST, OLA, West, Singapore's Temasek, Industry, Hero Electric, TVS, EV, Ola, Fayaz Bukhari, Thomson Locations: Thane, Mumbai, India, THANE, HYDERABAD, DELHI, MUMBAI, Chennai, Bengaluru, India's, U.S, China, Kochi, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jose, Srinagar

JSW held talks with senior LGES executives in Korea earlier this month, proposing a partnership to manufacture battery cells in India for EVs and energy storage, one of the people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. "Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Persons: Danish Siddiqui, JSW, LGES, China's CATL, Sajjan Jindal, CATL, Narendra Modi's, JSW's, Ola, Aditi Shah, Neha Arora, Heekyong Yang, Daniel Leussink, Miho Uranaka, Zhang Yan, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Danish, Korea's LG Energy, Panasonic, Toshiba, JSW's, Tesla, General Motors, China's, HK, Reuters, JSW, Tata Motors, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, Korea, Korean, India's, New Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai

"Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. All three sources declined to be identified as the talks are still ongoing and a final decision has not been made. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

REUTERS/VarunVyas Hebbalalu/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India's Ola Electric plans to file regulatory papers for its up to $700 million IPO before the end of October as the e-scooter maker fast-tracks its listing move, three people with direct knowledge said. Backed by investors including Singapore's Temasek and Japan's SoftBank (9984.T), Ola Electric was valued at $5.4 billion in a recent fund raising. Ola Electric and Kotak did not respond to a request for comment while the other three banks declined to comment. Ola Electric is targeting IPO roadshows for early January or February, said one of the sources. Ola Electric, though, still makes losses.

Persons: Ola, VarunVyas, Japan's SoftBank, Ola Electric, Goldman Sachs, Bhavish Aggarwal, Tesla, Sriram, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Singapore's Temasek, Japan's, Ola, ICICI, Bank of America, West, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pochampalli, Tamil Nadu, India, Rights MUMBAI

☆ Indian e-scooter maker Ather readies new models and exports after subsidy cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ather electric scooters are seen outside the showroom in Mumbai, India, January 28, 2022. India's electric scooter market is small but growing, with e-models accounting for 5% of total scooter and motorcycle sales in the last fiscal year against a government target of 70% by 2030. "The transition to electric vehicles could have been faster if not for the (subsidy) change but even then, there will be no major impact in the mid to long term," he said. Valued at around $750 million, Ather will raise more money before the end of 2023 to back its growth plans, he said, without giving more details. "India will not only be the largest market in the world for electric two-wheelers but also the largest exporter," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Tarun Mehta, Mehta, Ather, Electric, Hero MotoCorp, Aditi Shah, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ather, Reuters, Softbank, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India

Ola Electric's S1 Air e-scooters are pictured inside its manufacturing facility in Pochampalli in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/VarunVyas Hebbalalu/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Singapore's investment firm Temasek led a $140 million funding round in India's Ola Electric at a valuation of $5.4 billion, two sources with the direct knowledge said, the latest funding for the e-scooter maker before its initial public offering. Ola did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Temasek, which is an existing investor in Ola Electric, declined to comment. Ola Electric, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and backed by Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T), has become India's e-scooter market leader with a 32% share, competing with Ather Energy as well as companies such as TVS Motor (TVSM.NS) and Hero Electric. Valued at $5 billion last year, Ola sold around 95,000 e-scooters during April-August 2023, industry data showed.

Persons: Ola, VarunVyas, Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal, Japan's, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Yantoultra Ngui, Dhwani Pandya, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Temasek, Japan's SoftBank, Ather Energy, TVS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pochampalli, Tamil Nadu, India, DELHI, India's, Temasek, Ola

Turkey's Central Bank headquarters is seen in Ankara, Turkey in this January 24, 2014 file photo. Yet five foreign investors told Reuters that this week's rate hike signalled a new independence among policymakers who are serious about addressing unrelenting pressure on the currency and reining in inflation expectations. "It feels like they are correcting the mistakes they made with their first rate hike decisions," said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager at abrdn in London. Erdogan, who has fired four central bank chiefs in four years, has said little about the rate hikes. Reuters GraphicsTurkish stock, Eurobond and CDS markets are more attractive targets this year and next, especially after the rate hike, investors and officials say.

Persons: Umit, Erdogan's unorthodoxy, Mehmet Simsek, Goldman Sachs, Tayyip Erdogan's, Viktor Szabo, Ola El, Van Eck, ERDOGAN, Erdogan, Simsek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Cevdet Yilmaz, Blaise Antin, TCW, Kaan, Neuberger Berman, Jonathan Spicer, Marc Jones, Jorgelina, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Turkey's Central Bank, Finance, Goldman, Reuters, abrdn, Emerging Markets, Wall Street, JPMorgan, Reuters Graphics, CDS, Yeni, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, ANKARA, LONDON, New York, London, Van, Los Angeles, Reuters Graphics Turkish, Yeni Safak, Morocco, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Rosario

Some investors and economic analysts are sceptical that expansion will lead to increased foreign direct investment (FDI) within the bloc. Still, BRICS leaders and other investors touted the increased economic heft from the expansion. Increasing use of national currencies to reduce U.S. dollar dependence was another goal BRICS leaders discussed at the summit in Johannesburg. And with oil producer heavyweights among the newcomers, investors said this would feed speculation that Saudi Arabia might increasingly switch to non-dollar-denominated currencies for oil trade. "The short-term consequences could be seen in oil," said Kaan Nazli, a portfolio manager at asset manager Neuberger Berman in London.

Persons: Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China Xi, Cyril Ramaphosa, India Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Viktor Szabo, Li Kexin, Ola El, Chris Turner, Jakob Ekholdt Christensen, Hasnain Malik, abrdn's Szabo, Kaan Nazli, Neuberger Berman, Rachel Savage, Karin Strohecker, Bansari Mayur, Marc Jones, Jorgelina, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Russia's, Iran, United Arab Emirates, abrdn, Emerging Markets, ING, Reuters Graphics, China, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: China, India, Sandton, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, JOHANNESBURG, LONDON, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Johannesburg, United States, Saudi, London, Van Eck, New York, Copenhagen, Dubai, Bangalore, Rosario

A man checks his mobile phone as he waits while recharging his Ola electric scooter at an electric vehicle charging station in New Delhi, India, February 12, 2022. REUTERS/Aditi Shah/File PhotoPOCHAMPALLI, TAMIL NADU, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Ola Electric, India's largest maker of electric scooters, launched its most affordable rides on Tuesday, in an effort to woo more buyers as the price of e-scooters moves closer to gasoline models. The cheapest gasoline scooter in India costs about 64,000 rupees. The Softbank Group-backed (9984.T) company on Tuesday said it has opened 100 more service centres across the country, taking their total tally to 500. ($1 = 83.3916 Indian rupees)Reporting by Varun Vyas in Pochampalli, Riddhima Talwani in New Delhi and Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru, editing by Aditi Shah and Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aditi Shah, Ola, Varun Vyas, Riddhima, Biplob Kumar Das, Sonia Cheema Organizations: REUTERS, Softbank, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Pochampalli, Bengaluru

☆ Elon Musk scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to meet India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in New York during Modi's visit to the United States, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Musk and Modi are expected to discuss Tesla's ambitions in the country, setting up a manufacturing base and possible incentives for battery production. Tesla has discussed operating in India in the past, but so far hasn't reached an agreement there. Tesla's largest manufacturing base outside the U.S. is in China, and it's also working on a major facility outside Berlin. While India is widely seen as a growth market for the broader automotive industry, the International Energy Agency projects electric car sales still represent a small share of the global market.

Persons: Elon Musk, Narendra Modi, Modi, Tesla, it's Organizations: India's, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Ola, EV, International Energy Agency Locations: New York, United States, India, U.S, China, Berlin, Mexico, Europe

With the IPO still some way off, Ola is embarking on investor meetings earlier than usual to explain the business potential of India's nascent EV market. Aggarwal plans to meet investors, including BlackRock (BLK.N), Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, and mutual funds such as T Rowe Price (TROW.O), the first source said. Ola Electric declined to comment. Ola Electric is likely to file regulatory papers on the IPO for approval by August, the two sources said. Ola competes with other startups and bigger companies like TVS Motors (TVSM.NS), Ather Energy and Hero Electric, which are ramping up their EV scooter plans.

Persons: Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal, Rowe Price, Bhavish, Ola Electric, T Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs, Sriram, Scott Murdoch, Aditya Kalra, Jane Merriman Organizations: Blackrock, Bank of America, Temasek, BlackRock, Reuters, TVS Motors, Ather Energy, Hero, EV, Citi, ICICI Securities, Thomson Locations: Singapore, UK, U.S, GIC, MUMBAI, United States, United Kingdom, India

☆ Auto giants are setting their sights on a new growth market for EVs: India
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

When it comes to electric cars, however, the country is playing a game of catch up. During a recent interview with CNBC's Charlotte Reed, Thierry Koskas accepted that the market in India was "just starting." Citroën India, which launched the fully electric ë-C3 in Feb. 2023, is not alone when it comes to making a move in India's nascent electric car sector. According to the IEA, Tata was responsible for more than 85% of battery electric vehicle sales within India last year. Other Indian firms jostling for position in the sector include Mahindra and Mahindra and Ola Electric.

☆ Ola plans $920 mln India investment in electric cars, batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHENNAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group-backed (9984.T) Ola Electric would invest $920 million in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to manufacture electric cars and batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), a state government statement said on Saturday. Ola will invest 76.14 billion rupees ($920 million) through its subsidiaries Ola Electric Technologies and Ola Cell Technologies, drawn to the growing demand for EVs in India. The company's cumulative production numbers topped 100,000 in November, and it plans to annually make 140,000 cars and hire 3,111 workers in Tamil Nadu through the new investment. In September, Ola said it was looking to expand into Latin America, ASEAN and European Union countries after entering India's neighbour Nepal first. ($1 = 82.7500 Indian rupees)Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India is learning to love electric vehicles — but they're not cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Electric vehicle charging stations from Tata Power can be found on 350 of the 600 highways in India. Puneet Vikram Singh, Nature And Concept Photographer, | Moment | Getty ImagesWhen most people think about electric vehicles, they think cars. From brands like Tesla and Rivian in the United States, to Nio and XPeng in China, global sales of electric vehicles have surged. But in India, two-wheel vehicles such as scooters, mopeds and motorbikes, dominate the market. The starting price of electric two-wheel vehicles can be as high as 160,000 rupees.

☆ India's Ola Electric ventures abroad, to enter Nepal next quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A man checks his mobile phone as he waits while recharging his Ola electric scooter at an electric vehicle charging station in New Delhi, India, February 12, 2022. It has signed a partnership agreement with CG Motors in Nepal to distribute its Ola S1 e-scooters. Ola Electric, valued at $5 billion, has made inroads into India's EV market with over 80,000 electric scooters. Ola had planned to go public in the first half of 2022, but has since postponed the plan, amid a volatility in the market and lackluster listings of some start-ups in India this year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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