EKA Mobility plans Rs 1,000-crore R&D investment for electric vehicles, eyes 2.5 lakh jobs over next five years

EKA Mobility has invested over Rs 600 crore in research and development (R&D) and plans to invest another Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years, while aiming to generate more than 2.5 lakh jobs across its operations and wider ecosystem, as the electric commercial vehicle maker expands its manufacturing capacity and global footprint.

"We will invest Rs 1,000 crore in R&D over the next five years," Dr. Sudhir Mehta, Founder and Chairman of EKA Mobility and Group Companies, told mediapersons here.

The Pune-based company has built the widest and most comprehensive range of electric commercial vehicles in the country, spanning buses, small commercial vehicles, and medium and heavy commercial vehicle trucks.

"EKA's buses are already deployed in Zanzibar and its small commercial vehicles in Nepal. Assembly plants are being established in South Africa and Australia, extending the company's manufacturing footprint beyond India and supporting its entry into new geographies," Dr. Mehta said.

EKA Mobility, together with Pinnacle Industries Ltd and its group companies, inaugurated six new manufacturing facilities at EKA Avirbhava in Pune on Friday. The ceremony marked the formal opening of six facilities across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

EKA Mobility and its group companies operate 11 manufacturing facilities spread across 120 acres, six of which were inaugurated at EKA Avirbhava. The facilities have a combined capacity to manufacture more than 40,000 electric vehicles annually. The group has invested over Rs 3,500 crore in building this ecosystem, making it one of the largest investments in commercial electric vehicles in the country.

"EKA holds over 300 intellectual properties and offers the largest range of electric commercial vehicles in India, with more than 3,000 vehicles already on the road and over 6,000 employees across the group. With these 11 facilities, EKA expects to create over 2.5 lakh jobs over the next five years across its operations and wider ecosystem," the company said.

"Public transport is the backbone of India. Until we make it accessible and affordable for all, we will not have achieved our vision, and no amount of technology matters if it does not reach the people who depend on it every day. Our products, their performance and their profitability are examples of how sustainability can be profitable for all: for the operator, for the passenger and for the country. That is why we have built all this -- the plants, the engineering and the technology -- in India, for India," Dr. Mehta said.

EKA has an order book of more than 11,000 buses valued at US$1.7 billion, with deployments across Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Meghalaya, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh.

EKA's electric small commercial vehicles (SCVs) have recorded more than 1,500 sales nationwide across passenger mobility, last-mile delivery and goods transportation.

The six newly inaugurated manufacturing facilities span the entire value chain of commercial vehicle manufacturing, from vehicle assembly to interiors, components and systems:

EKA SCV Plant, Pune: Dedicated to the EKA small commercial vehicle range.

EKA Bus & Trucks Plant, Pune: Home to the company's bus and medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) truck platforms.

VDL Pinnacle Engineering Plant, Pune: Focused on automotive engineering, this is a joint venture between VDL Groep (Netherlands) and Pinnacle Industries.

Instor India Plant, Pune: Manufactures retail store fixtures, displays and storage solutions, as well as automotive parts, including EV bus body structures and IP67-rated battery enclosures.

Pinnacle Seating and Interiors Plant, Pune: Dedicated to seating, interiors and components for the western region.

Pinnacle Interiors Plant, Pithampur: The parent company's largest facility, dedicated to seating systems and interiors for buses, trains, tractors, ambulances, motorhomes and custom vehicles.