Kovai-based e-mobility firm rides green tech wave in Tamil Nadu

In 2007, China had consumed roughly 18 million electric vehicles. That figure set off a chain reaction in Hemalatha Annamalai’s mind. The CEO of Ampere Vehicles, which provides eco-friendly solutions for personal mobility, industrial applications and materials movement began thinking why that sort of consumption did not happen in India. 

She tells us, “As electric vehicles were non-emitting and could impact people’s lives in positive ways, my interest in the segment was piqued. And I went about setting up my company in 2008. Over the past eight years, India would have consumed as many as 2.5 lakh electrical vehicles, which is a sporadic consumption. 

E-vehicles are only coming of age in India now. The current government is positive about e-vehicles and has relaunched a subsidy for this category. So, the industry, as whole has turned bullish.” She adds, “One of the reasons for the slow scale-up is the lack of awareness regarding e-vehicles. 

The technology and concepts are new. So, people have an anxiety regarding these vehicles. If financing for e-vehicles is carried out largely through nationalised banks, this industry could take a significant leap forward.” 

The top executive was recently honoured with Rotary Club of Madras East’s Woman Entrepreneur Award. Talking about the backing her company received from industrial magnate Ratan Tata, she says, “He was keen on supporting sincere entrepreneurs.  He supported us at the right time as we were in talks for securing a government loan. 

He had previously assumed that e-vehicles were largely retro-fitted. He did not realise that true e-vehicles in the form of cycles and scooters existed. When we showed him a completely indigenous electric trolley and a Trishul (an industrial mobility vehicle), he was thrilled and that’s what led him to endorse our brand.”

 Kris Gopalakrishnan, the Executive Vice Chairman of Infosys is also one of the investors in the company, along with Forum Synergies, Bengaluru. 

She says, “Ampere is one of the fastest growing networks in India. We are solving a social problem – by providing affordable mobility to those who deserve it the most, primarily in small towns, where public transport is limited. 

Our USP is that we also make our own motors, controllers and chargers. We are also one of the very first labs in India with an R&D recognition from the Department of Science and Technology.” 

Talking about the plants in Coimbatore, she says, “Our current plant capacity lets us manufacture about 30,000 vehicles annually. That is the first stage of our growth. For the next one year, we should be retaining the same capacity. We want to integrate two of our existing facilities in Coimbatore into a larger one shortly. 

We want to ensure the complete power train and vehicle manufacturing facilities are combined so that scaling up requirements can be met. The government is also seriously considering the inclusion of electric vehicles in its smart city initiatives. In the next two years, the market for e-vehicles will come of age completely.” 

Expansion plan wise, the company is looking at ramping up the power train production. Hemalatha says, “We want to create more jobs – from the existing 120 employees to an additional 100. We largely hire pass-outs from engineering colleges from Tier 2, 3 and 4 towns.  

We are the tech leader in India in power trains. We are also category leaders in the trolley segment for internal use in textile mills. We have 12 super distributors in 14 states and we want to make it 29 in the next 2 years.” 

The company also develops many frugal engineering innovations. “Lots of new players are coming into the sector like Hero Electric and Ather Energy. Collectively, we are spreading the idea that ‘Manufacturing is Cool.’ Engineers don’t have to write only software and work for IT companies. 

They can come to manufacturing companies and do interesting work in the space of IoT and Big Data,” she sums up.