Ashok Leyland Mulls Rs 10,000-15,000 Crore EV Battery Plant in Bhandara, Says Gadkari

Rs 10,000-15,000 Crore Battery Project on the Table

Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland is evaluating an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Bhandara, Maharashtra, a project that could attract an investment of between Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 15,000 crore, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday. The minister was speaking in Nagpur after inaugurating a 40-seater electric bus donated by Ashok Leyland for senior citizens' pilgrimage services.

"If they go ahead, then it could bring in investments between Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore," Gadkari said, as reported by The Times of India. An Ashok Leyland battery plant would be one of the largest such commitments by an Indian commercial vehicle maker, and a direct bet on the electrification of trucks and buses — the segment where operating-cost economics favour EVs most strongly.

Gadkari's Vidarbha Pitch and the Bigger Picture

Gadkari used the event to pitch Vidarbha as an emerging auto and logistics hub, citing a strike-free industrial environment, a dry port in Nagpur now operational for direct exports, and improving multi-modal connectivity. He noted that Mahindra has begun work on a Rs 15,000 crore unit in the region and that the MIHAN project has already generated one lakh jobs. "You must make Nagpur your headquarters. We will fully cooperate with you," he told manufacturers.

The minister also revealed the scale of India's auto ambition: the industry has climbed to third position globally, behind only the US and China, and is now valued at Rs 23 lakh crore. "We were at seventh position, now we have crossed Japan and reached third. I want to take this industry to number one in the world in five years," he said.

Why Battery Localisation Matters

For the EV transition, domestic battery cell manufacturing remains the single biggest gap in India's supply chain. Most EV batteries today use imported cells, which keeps prices high and exposes manufacturers to currency and geopolitical risk. A commercial-vehicle-focused battery plant would support exactly the vehicles — buses and trucks — where daily running distances make total cost of ownership arguments decisive. Follow AUTOINDIA's Electric section on the homepage for the next developments on this story, and compare electric and diesel commercial vehicle costs on the Compare page.

What this means for you: nothing changes at the showroom tomorrow — this is an investment signal, not a product launch. But if it materialises, expect faster, cheaper electrification of the buses and trucks that shape India's freight and public transport costs within this decade.

(Sources: The Times of India, ETAuto, Autocar Professional, 21/09/2026; image: Srikanth Ramakrishnan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)