Murugappa’s TI Clean Mobility to Enter E-rickshaw Market with Rs 3,000 Cr EV Push

TI Clean Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of the Murugappa Group, is stepping into India’s crowded e-rickshaw market while expanding its broader EV portfolio. The company has already poured nearly Rs 3,000 crore into building electric vehicle platforms and plans to invest more over the next two to three years as it scales up production and reach.

Arun Murugappan, Executive Chairman of TI Clean Mobility and Tube Investments of India, said the company remains confident about the long-term potential of electric mobility in India even though the industry is still in its early stages. TI Clean Mobility currently makes a range of electric commercial vehicles, including small commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, tractors and heavy trucks, with manufacturing plants in Chennai and Manesar already in operation.

In the three-wheeler segment, its subsidiary Tivolt Electric Vehicles has been growing its retail network and now has 117 dealerships across India, including 30 in North India and six in the Delhi-NCR region. Jalaj Gupta, Managing Director of TI Clean Mobility, said the company will continue expanding in key states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which are among the largest markets for three-wheelers.

Executives also confirmed plans to launch electric rickshaws before the end of this year. The move comes after the company waited for clearer safety and regulatory norms in what remains one of the most unregulated and informal parts of the EV sector. The focus for e-rickshaw sales will be North and East India, where they are widely used for last-mile passenger transport. Southern states, where the segment has a smaller presence, are not expected to be a priority in the near term.

Finance remains a hurdle for commercial EV buyers, the company acknowledged. Even with Murugappa’s strong backing, lenders are still cautious about EV loans because the technology is new and performance data is limited. TI Clean Mobility has tied up with several financial institutions to ease access to credit, and executives expect financing to improve as regulations become clearer and more data becomes available.

The company’s move into e-rickshaws and continued investment in electric platforms underline its strategy to capture a larger share of India’s growing electric mobility market.

Source: Autocar Professional