Hoping that the Indian automobile industry will produce world-class and affordable electric vehicles by emerging from the shadows of trailblazers like Tesla, Minister for Industries and Commerce Mekapati Goutham Reddy has said efforts are under way to create the kind of ecosystem in the State that the private sector requires to make their impression in the global arena.
Andhra Pradesh is focusing on building the automotive ecosystem by engaging the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) along the Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridors, according to the Minister.
Speaking at the 2020 Auto Expo in New Delhi on Saturday, Mr. Goutham Reddy said potential suppliers of KIA Motors which has a plant in Anantapur district, and other large automakers were enquiring about the opportunities for establishing their component manufacturing units in the State, where Isuzu Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge, THK and others have already invested over $4.50 billion.
He observed that A.P. was the first State in south India to offer 24X7 electricity to industry and has a dedicated policy for incentivising electric mobility. Besides, A.P. has targeted the phase-out of all fossil fuel-based commercial fleet and logistics vehicles from the top four cities.
The Minister further said indigenising and adapting to the local market needs was the key to success in the highly lucrative and competitive Indian auto market and its example was right in A.P., i.e. KIA Motors.
‘KIA plans expansion’
He informed the gathering that KIA Motors was planning to scale up its capacity from two lakh units per annum to three lakh at the existing plant in Anantapur by the end of this year or early 2021. Though KIA Motors was a recent entrant to the emerging automotive ecosystem in India, it has a strong multiplier effect for A.P. due to forward and backward linkages to diverse segments of the State economy.
Commenting on the Indian auto industry, Mr. Goutham Reddy said it was one of the largest growing markets with companies like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai reaching new heights every year and invited the major players to realise the potential in A.P.
