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New Delhi: Ashok Leyland, the second-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in India, have announced that they are going to invest Rs 5,000 crore in battery manufacturing in the next seven to ten years through their partnership with Chinese battery technology company CALB Group. The Hinduja Group flagship signed a long-term exclusive agreement with CALB, China’s third-largest battery maker.
The partnership will see the development and manufacturing of batteries for both automotive and non-automotive usage, including for energy storage systems. The deal places Ashok Leyland to serve not just their EV needs but also external demands across India’s automobile and energy storage sectors.
The investment happens as Indian carmakers are investing around Rs 85,420 crore in EVs and lithium-ion batteries in 2025 to meet the surging demand. India’s battery market is going to turn into 1.05 lakh crore in 2025 and is expected to grow annually at 10.59 per cent, with the government pushing towards sustainable transportation.
Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, Shenu Agarwal, has said that the new battery business will at first focus on just the automotive industry before going towards the non-automotive industry. The company is planning to establish a Global Centre of Excellence for research and development in battery materials, recycling, battery management systems and manufacturing processes as well.
The partnership shows that the relations between India and China are improving. CALB are themselves investing 2 billion euros in their first European factory in Portugal, with production set to start in 2026, projecting the Chinese company’s global expansion strategy.
Ashok Leyland comes into battery manufacturing with quite a few companies establishing production capabilities in India. Tata Group have finalised agreements for a Rs 13,000 crore lithium-ion cell factory in Gujarat with an initial capacity of 20 GWh, with other manufacturers scaling up operations in order to meet the demand on the domestic front. The company’s existing EV fleet with benefit through their Switch brand will benefit from the localised battery supply, supply chain dependencies and even potential reduction in costs. At present, Ashok Leyland functions in 50 countries with 54,000 touch points and manufactures trucks in the range of 2-ton to 55 ton gross trailer weight.
Chairman of Ashok Leyland Dheeraj Hinduja said the partnership’s role in making a domestic battery supply chain was to accelerate the adoption of EVs and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
