Jindal Stainless eyes share in India’s E-rickshaw market pie

New Delhi: As a new business development initiative towards sustainable transportation, after stainless steel bus bodies and railway coaches and wagons, Jindal Stainless is now in talks with manufacturers to facilitate the rollout of stainless steel E-rickshaws. Jindal Stainless is targeting a 25% share of the total E-rickshaw market in India over the next 2 years fetching estimated revenue of Rs 200 crore. The company expects an annual volume demand of 13,000 metric tonnes from this new business development initiative by 2021.

Jindal Stainless is targeting a 25% share of the total E-rickshaw market in India over the next 2 years fetching estimated revenue of Rs 200 crore

Jindal sees UP as growth engine of E-rickshaw

As per industry sources, Uttar Pradesh will be the largest market in the next five years as demand will majorly be driven from Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. According to transport sector sources, it is estimated that nearly 6 lakh E-rickshaws are sold in India annually and this sale is expected to grow to the tune of ~16 % (CAGR) in the next 5 years. Given the high potential market of Uttar Pradesh, Jindal Stainless is participating in the EvExpo 2019 at Lucknow with an intention to forge partnerships with local E-rickshaw manufacturers.

Talking to PSU Watch, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless, Abhyuday Jindal said, "Considering the market potential that Uttar Pradesh has to offer, the state will be one of our key focus areas. We will extend our full support to E-rickshaw manufacturers in designing and developing stainless steel models that are affordable, high on RoI, and user-friendly."

Enhancing the value and efficiency of E-rickshaws

Jindal Stainless successfully developed the first stainless steel E-rickshaw prototype in India which demonstrated superior body and chassis performance as compared to carbon steel E-rickshaws. This prototype has been well received by the domestic E-rickshaw manufacturers. Haryana based E-rickshaw manufacturers have already received orders for over 100 stainless steel E-rickshaws.

E-mobility on the rise world over

On the global front, the E-mobility trend is on the rise with an expected share of over 2% in the total automobile market in the next 2 years. The Indian E-mobility market has gained a Y-o-Y momentum, mainly in buses, passenger cars, 3-wheelers, and 2-wheelers. Transformation of commercial 3-wheelers into electric vehicles is expected to be faster where RoI (return on investment) is high for the owner. With INR 10,000 crore being pumped into the sector through FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) scheme, the Indian government is making concentrated efforts in setting up a robust E-mobility infrastructure. Doubling the subsidy for electric 3-wheelers to INR 20,000 per kWh is an essential step under the second phase of FAME.