Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) Leading powertrains and genset maker Greaves Cotton today signed an agreement to acquire majority stake in electric vehicle maker Ampere Vehicles which boasts of Ratan Tata as an investor.

Though the company did not disclose the value of the deal, sources told PTI that Greaves Cotton will pay Rs 77 crore for a 67 per cent stake in the Coimbatore-based firm which was set up a decade ago.

Nagesh Basavanhalli, managing director and chief executive of Greaves Cotton told this agency they can acquire 13 per cent more stake later and take it to 80 per cent.

Ampere, which has Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan of the Infosys fame as investors, has two plants in Coimbatore with an annual capacity of 60,000 units of battery operated cycles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and other custom built electric vehicles sold under the Ampere brand name, moslty in the Southern markets.

The company, is a leader in the last mile electric mobility segment with strong in-house capabilities in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing, employs over 100 of which 30 per cent are women.

"With this strategic acquisition, we will be able to address a wider range of customer segments with clean energy mobility solutions. Greaves and Ampere will be a synergistic combination of our excellence in frugal engineering and manufacturing with a new age electric mobility solutions company," he said.

When asked about the e-scooter market, he said it has the potential to touch 2 lakh from the 55,000 units the industry notched up last fiscal.

The newly launched Greaves Care network of services nearly 7,000 vehicles a month, with plans to substantially ramp it up in the coming years. Greaves will be able to leverage its distribution, aftermarket and service strengths to help Ampere grow more rapidly, Basavanhalli said.

The Rs 1,800-crore Greaves, a trusted brand since 1859, currently provides transportation to almost 10 million people daily through its powertrain solutions, farm equipment and gensets.

Ampere was established in 2008 and has a successful track record in the area of design, development, manufacturing and marketing battery operated electric vehicles which include electric cycles, electric two-wheelers, electric three-wheelers and custom built electric vehicles.

In the past three years it cumulatively sold 20,000 vehicles and has distribution footprints in all the Southern states, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)