The Bangalore-based Mecwin India has announced the signing of an MoU worth INR 1,500 crore with the Tatva Group to manufacture and supply five lakh retrofit kits for different vehicles over the next three years.
As a part of the MoU, the company will supply retrofit kits, including motor, controller, lithium-ion battery, and charger, for 2, 3, & 4-wheelers, Dr Shiva Kumar HM, Co-founder and Director of Mecwin India, said.
Dr Kumar added, “Retrofitting has a huge potential to bring people closer to electric vehicles. It also increases the useful life span of existing vehicles and would also not fall into the new scrappage policy. There are millions of petrol vehicles on Indian roads.The market size is huge even if only a fraction of them are retrofitted with EV kits. The current demand for EV retrofitting kits is met by Chinese imports.”
According to a press release from the company, EV retrofitting in India has seen a 50-60% growth yearly. The EV retrofitting offers several advantages, the first and foremost being its significantly lower cost than buying a new electric vehicle. Since the vehicle runs on batteries, the users can avoid the high fuel costs. Moreover, EV retrofitting helps in enhancing the lifespan of the vehicles.
Dr Kumar believes this is the perfect time to promote EV retrofitting as the EV segment is still in a nascent stage in India, and it will increase the pace of adoption of EVs and spur the development of EV charging infrastructure.