Madal Bechraji, which is 106 km from Ahmedabad, is set to become India’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing centre.
Sanand, which is 22 km from Ahmedabad, was also chosen as the location for the Tata Nano Plant. Ford and Honda soon followed suit and opened shops in the same town.
Pranav Shah, state chairperson, Gujarat Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) explained,“Both satellite townships are close to Ahmedabad. Executives stay in the city and get cheap manpower in Bechraji and Sanand. This is a huge benefit for EV manufacturing units.”
Sanand also offers competitive incentives for firms looking at setting up operations within the region. These include income tax benefits, exemption from dividend distribution tax, indirect tax incentives, zero customs duty, exemption from central sales tax and exemption from service tax.
The same sentiments are echoed by Vivek Sharma, manager, Kataria GreenAther,“Most manufacturing units in Sanand and Bechraji are set up on lease. Like Bengaluru has created an ecosystem conducive for start-ups, Sananad and Bechraji have done it for EV manufacturing.”
Gujarat has witnessed a 950 percent increase in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) over the past couple of years.
According to official sources in the state government, by the end of 2019, the number of registered EVs was hardly over 950 which increased to 1,119 in 2020. Suddenly, the number of registered EVs surged to 9,780 by the end of 2021 showing a 956% rise in the registration of EVs in Gujarat.
In March 2022, Jagdish Panchal, minister of state for industries, congratulated Tata Motors Limited (TML) on manufacturing nearly five lakh cars between 2015-16 and 2021-22.
Over 26,000 people in the region have gained direct and indirect employment as a result of the Sanand plant. The state government made the Nano project possible by allocating 445 hectares of land at a rate of Rs 900 per square metre.
Rising fuel prices are a major motivator for automobiles to go electric. Petrol is currently priced at 105.08 per litre, and prices are rising. The incentive to build EV plants is enormous, and land in Sanand is less expensive.