Automotive electricals manufacturer Lucas TVS will launch traction motors designed for electric vehicles by next year in what the 55-year-old TVS Group company believes is a key de-risking strategy to align with the global transition towards electric vehicles.Â
The company will set up a trial production line dedicated to its EV journey inside one of its seven plants, with room to scale up, based on demand. The plan is to expand in a phased manner. The traction motors will find purchase in the growing electric rickshaws and electric threewheeler segments. Lucas TVS will evaluate product segments relevant for the EV industry as government regulations and incentives to encourage adoption of the cleaner technology evolve.
Having been working on the transition to electric-vehicle technology for four years now, the company views it as a threat to its existing businesses but also an opportunity to strike new ground.
Arvind Balaji, a fourth-generation scion of the TV Sundaram Iyengar family and the joint managing director at Lucas TVS, said to ET that large automakers have made advances on building technology for e-vehicles, but the transition will be gradual. With government regulations still being drafted, the dynamics between the original equipment maker and suppliers will become apparent only later.
Though the roadmap is hazy, Balaji has already begun making changes to his business to suit the transition — from different capital models to judicious capacity expansions. There will be a focus on the non-automotive clientele like defence purchases. Currently, the non-automotive businesses make up only 7% of the annual revenue, reported ET.
