NexGen Energia to invest Rs 1,000 crore for setting up EV manufacturing unit in J&K

Sustainable energy solutions firm NexGen Energia on Monday said it will invest Rs 1,000 crore in setting up a manufacturing unit for electric vehicles (EVs) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Noida-based company said it is currently in talks with the authorities in the Union Territory and scouting for 100-acre land either in the Kathua industrial area or in the Kashmir Valley.

The move comes soon after the company announced Rs 3,000 crore investment for setting up a Compress Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Gujarat. "Along with 'Make in India', we are on the way to fulfil the dream of self-reliant India. We will establish an EV plant in Jammu and Kashmir in collaboration with the government in which we will invest Rs 1,000 crore," NexGen Energia chairman Piyush Dwivedi told PTI. "The manufacturing unit will provide direct and indirect employment to about 1 lakh people and we aim to launch NGE's most affordable electric two-wheeler on April 15 next month for just Rs 36,900 from our Noida unit," Dwivedi said.

The NexGen Energia chairman said last week he met with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari at his Delhi office where the company presented its proposals on sustainable energy solutions like increasing the use of CBG and India-made EVs. The company has a range of EVs two-wheelers and three-wheelers which is ready for launch. It will eventually start production of electric buses, trucks and cars in the future, it said.