The joint venture will help the companies become the world’s largest bus manufacturing conglomerate and also synergise their strengths to produce smart and cheap buses in the electric vehicle (EV) segment
UK-based global conglomerate SRAM and MRAM Group recently signed an historic association with Csepel Holding Nyrt, Hungary, to become the world’s largest bus manufacturing conglomerate. This agreement would enable both the industrial giants to synergise their strengths and help produce smart and cheap buses in the electric vehicle (EV) segment. With Csepel and SRAM signing multiple agreements with various governments across the globe to produce and operate buses on the BOOT model, the future looks strong and bright for the joint venture. The initiative would help developing economies to utilise the expertise of the conglomerate to ensure they are enabled to use the BOOT business model of the cash-rich conglomerate and become active participants of the green revolution.
SRAM and Csepel have decided to march ahead on their path to empower the developing world with green energy technologies. All the buses will be provided free of cost to the vendors, including governments. Csepel and SRAM would be appointing ELPRO Automobiles (P) Ltd., India, to manage all the maintenance-related work and providing charging stations across India. ELPRO by itself has been an automotive ancillary company working towards developing leading green energy technologies and has initiated talks with the Republic of Myanmar, India and the Kingdom of Cambodia to strengthen their public transport systems by introducing 2,000 new EV buses free of cost. The joint venture partners will generate all the necessary financial and manpower resources to finance the entire project from scratch.
It will launch 200 fully ready, 33-seater buses within a period of two years from the date of the proposed agreements with various governments and corporates. Csepel Holding Nyrt will bring in the necessary investments required, including human, financial and technical resources, to set up multiple assembling units in Asia across different countries, namely, India, Myanmar, Cambodia and other Asian countries within the next five years. Group Chairman Dr. Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani along with Vice Chairman of the consortium R. Kalaichelvan, a veteran in the field of automotive ancillaries and owner of multiple IPRs in the field of automotive motors, have together, in association with Harpreet Bhakshi, Managing Director, ELPRO, pledged comprehensive resources including financial, human and technical for the next 10 years to ensure the success of this project.
R.Kalaichelvan, Director, Csepel Holding Nyrt, is a veteran industrialist and has brought in the entire Hungarian automotive manufacturers under one roof. He has been at the forefront of creating green initiatives along with the European corridor and has signed multiple agreements with both the Hungarian Government and Hungarian automotive associates to spread a green revolution across the globe and help underdeveloped countries with the technical know-how to convert existing infrastructure to more environment-friendly green initiatives. In a meeting that was earlier held with the Secretary of State and Minister Othsman Hassan and Rofy Othsman, Member of Parliament, Kalaichelvan said that the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has been advocating the need to revamp the Cambodian transport landscape.
“He is keen in involving private bodies to create the necessary technologies to build what is necessary. With such initiatives we feel that the Cambodian economy could start moving on the upstream,” he added. Othsman Hassan, himself a seasoned politician with grassroots level grip on Cambodian politics, has been responsible for many such path-breaking initiatives in the past and has been responsible for an increase in investment flows into Cambodia. He was very keen to pursue the BOOT model as it would enable businesses to grow at a rapid rate with public and private partnerships (PPP), thus enabling a healthy business environment and improving the economy as a whole. Rofy Othsman, Member of the Cambodian Parliament, has also expressed interest in attracting multiple investment opportunities into Cambodia.
Nitin Gupta, Director, Cosmo Solutions, a technocrat businessman from India has been appointed by Csepel Holding Nyrt to supply the batteries needed for the buses. With his advanced technological advancement in the field of dry cell batteries he is the best bet to bring in self-charging batteries to the assembly line. Speaking at a press briefing, Dr. Hiranandani, Chairman, SRAM and MRAM Group, reiterated the need for large corporates to participate in the economic betterment of sleeping Asian giants to ensure that the growth process is triggered in the correct direction while keeping futuristic ideologies and technologies in mind. Sunil Kumar Arora, Executive Director, ELPRO, also emphasised on the need for corporates to foray into the EV transport market and usher in affordable technologies for developing economies, specifically targeting the surface transport sector. “This would help the fuel independence of these economies,” he said.