Ratan Tata invests in Coimbatore-based e-vehicle maker Ampere

Ratan Tata, the Tata Sons chairman emeritus, has invested an undisclosed sum in Coimbatore-based electric vehicle startup Ampere Vehicles.

The company co-founder Hemalatha Annamalai, who was selected for the CII Regional Emerging Entrepreneur Award earlier this year, has stated that Ampere will be using the funds to scale up its operations and hire talent over two years. Tata made the investment along with Forum Synergies, an existing investor in Ampere, The Hindu has reported.

Ampere had raised about Rs20 crore Forum Synergies, a local fund, and Axon Capital of Spain in an initial round.

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In recent times Ratan Tata has been investing in promising ventures, particularly in internet technology based ones such as Ola, Snapdeal, Paytm and Xiaomi. Ampere is his first investment in an automobile start-up.

Ampere Vehicles, which started operations in 2008, manufactures electric cycles, scooters, trolleys and special purpose vehicles for the differently-abled.

At present, the company sells its products in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. It also designs and manufactures its own chargers, motors and controllers.

The market for electric two-wheelers in India has been dull owing to the poor range on single charge the batteries powering these vehicles deliver. The country also lacks public infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

Ajith Kumar S

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