Japan's Nissan Motor has big EV plans in India; mulls production of cars, batteries

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor has commissioned a study to locally manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in India, comprising a Gigafactory for the mass production of EV batteries in the country. 

The study, kicked off around three months ago, is likely to be completed within a year. If it gives the green flag, then EVs will be manufactured in India for domestic as well as international markets, Ashwani Gupta, the global COO of Nissan, said, the Economic Times reported. Basis the conclusion of the study, the company will take a call on its EV strategy for India.

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He further stated that after the big success of Magnite, the company has already begun working on the next set of cars for India, comprising electrified vehicles.

"India should do the electric car, right from scratch, with localisation of upto 100% and for that localisation of batteries is so important. For localisation of EV batteries, we may need a minimum of a gigawatt to set up the battery plant. If we go ahead, India becomes a global hub for EVs," said Gupta.

Nissan Motor's global chairman is also expected to visit the country in the next six months to unveil a new roadmap for India. 

The automaker is presently developing a small electric K car along with its alliance partner Mitsubishi, which could possibly be a likely option for the Indian market. 

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Nissan Motor may also eventually explore an electric van for the thriving e-commerce space. On Thursday, the Japanese carmaker announced the setting of a new gigawatt plant for batteries at Sunderland in northeast England, in addition to a microgrid that will supply clean energy to the company and its vendor factories in the UK.

Nissan Motor forayed into the Indian market over a decade ago but has remained on the periphery of the domestic market with a less than 1-2% share. 

The company's attempt to get into the mass market with the Datsun brand too was unsuccessful. But its latest bet with Magnite has proved to be successful, and has encouraged the global office to relook at its Indian plans with renewed vigour.