SoftBank Group-backed Indian electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric on Saturday announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government to invest Rs 7,614 crore in the state for manufacturing electric vehicles and EV batteries.

Through the MoU, the company aims to build a 20 GW battery manufacturing facility in the state to produce its electric vehicles. Ola, through its subsidiaries Ola Electric Technologies and Ola Cell Technologies, will invest Rs 7,614 crore to meet India’s growing demand for electric cars, according to a statement released by the Tamil Nadu government.

The investment in the manufacturing facility will also help provide new jobs for more than 3,000 people.

Ola Electric’s cumulative production passed the 100,000-unit mark in November, with plans to produce 140,000 vehicles a year through new investments and employ 3,111 workers in the state. The company already produces electric two-wheelers in the state.

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola Electric, announced at the company’s annual event on August 15, 2022, that the company is working on electric vehicles. Aggarwal said Ola’s upcoming electric car will have “the best performance, best design and best technology ever in an Indian car”.

Ola says its electric car will be one of the fastest and sportiest in India. Aggarwal claims the upcoming EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds and have a driving range of more than 500 km on a single charge.

He added that the new EV would feature an all-glass roof, a drag coefficient of less than 0.21, and the company’s proprietary Move OS and driver assistance features. The car will arrive in 2024. Ola also revealed its plans to develop two new vehicle platforms and six different cars, which will be produced at its Giga plant in Tamil Nadu.

The company, which has around 200 operational experience centres across India, plans to expand its network to 500 locations by March 2023. In September, Ola said it wanted to expand to Latin America, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and European Union countries after first entering India’s neighbour Nepal.

Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu government unveiled its Electric Vehicle Policy 2023, which aims to secure investments of up to Rs 50,000 crore and create 150,000 new jobs to boost the EV industry.

Tamil Nadu, which already accounts for nearly a third of India’s car exports, is looking to boost EV manufacturing and exempt EVs from road tax, registration fees and licensing fees through its new EV policy.