Murugappa Group company to launch electric three-wheelers by September

EV charging | Representative image

TI Clean Mobility, a Murugappa Group company that is preparing to introduce the Montra brand of electric three-wheelers in India, will keep investing to expand capacity and freshen its product portfolio.

Globalisation and technology advancements “have catalysed the process of integrating the electric vehicle ecosystem,” said Arun Murugappan, Executive Chairman of Tube Investments of India. TI Clean Mobility is a fully owned unit of Tube Investments, a Murugappa Group company.

Murugappan reckoned the electric three-wheeler segment will be worth $1.75 billion by 2025. According to him, electric three-wheelers show real promise in the ecosystem for last-mile mobility.

“Electrification of this segment will prove to be a massive step,” he said. “It is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally.”

The government’s green push has proved to be a significant transformer in the automobile space, he added. NITI Aayog aims to achieve EV sales penetration of 70 percent for all commercial cars, 30 percent for private cars, 40 percent for buses and 80 percent for two- and three-wheelers by 2030.

The business philosophy of TI Clean Mobility, set up in February 2022, is to improve the quality of life with eco-friendly mobile solutions, Murugappan said.

“Electric mobility perfectly fits this endeavour,” he added. “Electric three-wheelers are indeed the future.”

Montra three-wheelers, designed and developed indigenously with domestically sourced components, are likely to be launched by early September. TI Clean Mobility is investing Rs 200 crore on setting up a facility at its Ambattur complex in Chennai. The plant will have an initial capacity of 75,000 vehicles.

The electric three-wheelers, company officials said, will cater to both the passenger and cargo segments. TI Clean Mobility will start with 40 distribution locations and this number will rise to 100 by the year-end, according to Murugappan.

The group entered the EV segment with the Montra brand of e-scooters some years ago. However, the e-bike failed to make a mark for various reasons.

To begin with, TI Clean Mobility will come out with three variants each in the passenger and cargo electric three-wheeler segment.

Besides electric three-wheelers, the group has signalled its entry into the electric tractor space with the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Cellestial Mobility for about Rs 160 crore. It is setting up a new plant on the outskirts of Chennai to make electric tractors.

With the Murugappa Group’s focus on EVs, options are open for growth and expansion.

“We will explore more opportunities and allocate more money at appropriate times,” Murugappan said.