Former BYD exec to advise Reliance Infrastructure’s potential EV production investment in India

Former BYD executive Sanjay Gopalakrishnan is a consultant for India’s Reliance Infrastructure as it considers locally producing electric vehicles (EV) and batteries. 

Gopalakrishnan retired from BYD earlier this year. He spent two years with the Chinese automaker, helping the company set up its EV business in India. The former BYD executive helped the China-based company launch three electric vehicles and establish a dealership network in the country. 

Reliance Infrastructure is part of Reliance Group, which has ties to services for power, roads, metro trails, and other infrastructure sectors in India. The company is currently looking into the feasibility of local EV and battery production.

The infrastructure company wants to learn the cost of setting up an EV plant with an initial annual capacity of 250,000 electric cars per year. According to a Reuters source, it aims to scale EV production to 750,000 units a few years after the start of operation. Reliance Infrastructure is also studying the feasibility of a battery plant with 10 GWh of annual capacity, with a goal to scale it up to 75 GWh in over a decade. 

Reliance Infrastructure is run by Anil Ambani, the younger brother of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. The Ambani brothers split the family business in 2005. 

Mukesh Ambani is the head of Reliance Industries, which is involved in several sectors, including oil, gas, telecoms, retail, and, most recently, the local production of EV batteries. Reliance Industries recently won a bid to receive government incentives for a battery plant with an annual capacity of 10 GWh. 

Other Indian companies have also started investing in local EV and battery production. Electric vehicles still make up a small portion of India’s auto market, and there is room for growth in the local EV market.

Earlier this year, India passed new EV policies that were friendly to local and foreign automakers, aiming to break into the market. Tesla was one of the first foreign automakers to dive into the opportunity. However, the Elon Musk-led company has not announced an official investment plan for India.

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