As a portion of the altered Karnataka Electric Vehicle (EV) policy 2023–28, the Department of Commerce and Industries has concluded Chikkaballapur and Bidadi near Bengaluru, and Hubballi–Dharwad as sites for the suggested new EV clutches.
These clusters, also known as EV Model Cities, are being constructed to support the adoption of EVs in Karnataka based on recommendations from the EV sector. Approximately 800 acres of land have been designated by the government for these clusters.
“We want Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)—those who create components—and EV manufacturing to be located in one location. That is why, we established these clusters. The companies are welcomed to establish their factories on the property we have supplied,” said Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner, Department of Industries and Commerce.
If companies desire a building that is built to order, the department will coordinate the specifics with an outside party and supply it. These clusters are intended to house testing facilities for the electric vehicle sector.
“Several companies have already begun operating out of the Gauribidanur clutches in the district of Chikkaballapur,” Ms. Krishna said.
Although other sites, including as Kalaburagi, Belagavi, and Mysuru, were also taken into consideration for cluster establishment, sources claim that the three places were chosen based on the amount of electric vehicles (EVs) in the surrounding districts. “Still, there is room to establish additional clusters in the future,” the source said.
In addition to facilitating the development of an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in Karnataka and offering a sustainable transportation framework, the objective of the EV policy is to draw ₹50,000 crore in investments to the industry and generate one lakh job opportunities. In 2017, Karnataka became the first State in India to implement an EV policy. As the previous policy’s timeline came to an end, the new one was unveiled.
The Energy Department, which is the nodal agency for the development of EV charging infrastructure, has taken a number of actions to promote the use of EVs in conjunction with the Department of Commerce and Industries. According to data released recently by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Karnataka has the greatest number of public electric vehicle charging stations (5,765) in all of India.
The State government also intends to invest ₹35 crore to establish 100 EV charging stations throughout the State in partnership with power supply firms.
