Gurgaon: The Federation of Indian Industry (FII) has appealed to the Haryana government to develop Gurgaon and its surrounding areas as a hub for manufacturing electric vehicles.
In a letter to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the FII pointed out that since the area was already a major hub of automobile manufacturers — Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Honda, Suzuki Motorcycles and TVS — it would be easier for these companies to expand the scope of their operations into the electric segment if they got adequate policy support.
“The automobile industry is dramatically changing and the focus is moving towards electric vehicles. Be it government policies or investment flow, there’s a great deal of momentum towards electric vehicles. It is the right time for industrial expansion in this region as the big market players are already present here. It will benefit the automobile industry and the government too,” said Deepak Jain, the FII director-general.
The FII pointed out that since the Centre was anyway promoting the production of electric vehicles, it would be in the interest of the state government and the industries in general if Gurgaon and its surrounding areas were developed as a hub for electric vehicles.
“It will help the existing industries as they won’t have to worry about setting up new units or plants elsewhere. The region is close to the power centre and that itself is an advantage. Moreover, it’ll be less time-consuming to convert this region into an EV manufacturing hub. In totality, it will ensure mutual growth of the industry and the GDP of the state. It will also give rise to employment,” said Deepak Maini, the FII general secretary in the state.
Industry owners believe that turning Gurgaon into an electric vehicle hub would also solve the problem of spare parts to a great extent. “There’s a great dependency on countries like China for spare parts. If Gurgaon is developed as an EV manufacturing hub, it will promote the expansion of ancillary industries too. So, manufacturers won’t have to rely on imports or look to different states to procure spare parts. The future is electric. Thus, the future of the automobile industry in this region has to be electric as well,” said JN Mangla, president of the Gurgaon Industrial Association.
Automobile manufacturers, too, backed the proposal. “We feel that the area should be developed into a zone for making electric vehicles. There’s a sufficient manufacturing base, manpower, and technical requirement here. Also, ancillary industries will increase and the country can go big on EV manufacturing,” said Yogesh Munjal, chairman and MD of Munjal Showa Limited, a member of Hero Group.
However, a section of the industrialists didn’t back the idea. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. I can think of Dharuhera or Bawal, but certainly not Gurgaon or Manesar. Residential prices are high here, so that bit gets factored in benchmarking the payment for the workforce. Also, issues like groundwater shortage are not in the interest of industries. Add to that the 75% quota for local youths. It could prove to be a deterrent to newcomers. South is a better option. Land is cheaper and other conditions are favorable too,” said the director of a leading automobile company.
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