Indian EV startup Ultraviolette plans $82 million plant as demand surges

Ultraviolette Automotive plans to invest 7.79 billion rupees (about $81.93 million) in a new plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, to boost production and prepare for India’s move into mass-market electric two-wheelers. The facility will start with 250,000 vehicles per year and can be expanded to 500,000. Sales momentum is being fueled by worries that older petrol vehicles may not work well with E20 fuel. Ultraviolette currently makes up to 50,000 units annually near Bengaluru. Founded with backers including Qualcomm and TVS Motor, the company expects a Shockwave motorcycle under 200,000 rupees and a Tesseract scooter below 150,000.