The future of electric vehicles (EVs) is marked by continued strong sales growth globally, with EVs expected to become a larger portion of the market in the coming years. The history of EVs dates back to the 19th century, with rudimentary electric carriages developed in the 1830s. In India, some entrepreneurs tried making EVs but efforts were limited in scale and faced significant technological and infrastructural hurdles. This is the story of EMIL, a joint venture set up in 1975 to make Electrona-24, an electric moped.
Text by Arvind Krishnaswamy
“Bangalore, in many ways, is unlike the other great cities of India. Most of the other cities in India remind one certainly of the present, certainly of the future but essentially of the past. But Bangalore, as I said, more than any other great city of India is a picture of the future…”
– Jawaharlal Nehru on July 17, 1962, during a speech at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru
True to these words, Karnataka has always been in the forefront of industrial development and its capital city has been hub of these efforts for several decades. As early as in 1966, The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act was enacted “for the development of industrial areas in the State and generally to promote the establishment and orderly development of industries therein”. Later in 1983, Karnataka was the first state to introduce a state-specific industrial policy and the first to formulate a state-level export promotion policy. Several state level institutions such as Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC) & Karnataka State Industrial Investments and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) were set up for the systematic development of industries.
Did you know that a maverick designer from Sweden who later became a Buddhist and an enterprising IAS officer were behind the initiative to launch an Electric Vehicle (EV) in Karnataka during the late 1970s and early 1980s? It may be hard to believe, but Electromobiles India Limited (EMIL) was incorporated 50 years ago on October 27, 1975. Just for context, this was 42 years before Ola Electric was launched in 2017 to make the same type of two wheelers!
As with many products that could not succeed because they were way ahead of their time, EMIL did not deliver on its promise and was liquidated in 1987. But the story of how this happened is still no less fascinating.
During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, oil production in Iran reduced and oil prices went up from $13 per barrel to $34 (equivalent of $139 today) in the mid-1980s. India was also impacted as it depended on imported oil and declining foreign exchange reserves. Petrol driven vehicles became too expensive to run and scientists the world over looked for alternate sources of energy. One of them was Björn Ortenheim. He was born on July 30, 1937 in Stockholm, Sweden. Björn was a wild, adventurous youth who graduated with MSc in airplane design. He was fluent in 6 European languages including English. Later, he studied Environment Conservation and Alternative Energy Systems at The Uppsala University for 6 years. After an early career in designing fighter aircraft, he spent 28 years as a researcher and inventor of electric vehicles with the aim of using technology to show how we can live in balance with nature. He invented several models of 2 and 3 wheeler mopeds with a patented regeneration system where each time the vehicle slowed down or went down a gradient, the motors worked as generators, converted the kinetic energy into electricity and supplied it to the batteries. Along the way, he became a deeply spiritual person, but had many interests from being a sailor, a pilot, a guitarist to a car enthusiast. One of his electric moped models was chosen to be manufactured under license in Karnataka.
The Government of Karnataka decided to set up the EMIL corporate office on the 3rd floor of Webb’s Building at 26, Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bengaluru and the manufacturing plant at Dharwad at an estimated cost of ₹1.5 crores. Later, the manufacturing was moved to Hinkal on Hunsur Road in Mysore as the government had difficulties in acquiring the identified land at Dharwad.
Zafar Saifullah, who was the Secretary of Rural Development Department, was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of EMIL. An IAS officer from the 1958 Karnataka cadre, he held a number of responsible positions in both State and Central governments culminating with his appointment as the Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India in 1993. He was a very influential and powerful bureaucrat and he initially managed to get substantial funds for the company during the first few years. Madan M Behl from Delhi, was the private investor in this Joint Venture and he was also the company’s Technical Director.
The two-wheeler was conceptually sound and technically advanced for its time. It had no clutch or gear and was powered by two 12-volt lead acid batteries. A full charge using any domestic power outlet took 6 to 8 hours and was good for 80 kms. The vehicle was tested and cleared by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The selling price was ₹7,600 but it was touted as pollution-free, noise-free and with a running cost of only 1.5 paise per kilometer. The motor was imported from the United States of America but there were plans to make it locally. Madan Behl planned to make 25,000 vehicles within 3 years and export 40 percent of it. The State Government had waived sales tax to reduce the price. The dream was that it would eventually replace the bicycle as the common man’s vehicle. So, what went wrong?
EMIL had a slow start and the launch of its first vehicle took over 6 years. In July 1981, the then Chief Minister R Gundu Rao, presided over the launch of the vehicle at the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Initial market response was promising and there were orders worth several lakhs in hand. It is said that lack of professionalism, irregular release of funds, inability to make suitable batteries and high import duties were some of the key reasons behind the delays and decline. The battery was susceptible to over-charging and hence, reduced its life span. EMIL tried to get AMCO to supply batteries but did not have a suitable charger. Besides technical challenges, EMIL had human resource issues. Being a Joint Sector project with a majority stake held by the Government, it was not immune to favoritism with hand-picked employees being thrust onto management roles.
Perukarote Lukose Mathew joined EMIL on December 1, 1980 as its 50th employee in the Personnel Department at Mysore. A graduate (B.A.) of St. Aloysius College & a Post Graduate (MSW) from School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, both in Mangalore, it was his first job and he worked there until April 4, 1983. He recalls that the company strength grew to over 350 employees (including 15 at the Corporate Office in Bengaluru) in that period and every employee was enthusiastic and worked hard. On March 12, 1982, the company even applied for a patent for its electric vehicle. The factory initially operated out of a hired factory building at Hinkal in Mysore but later expanded to the Premier Studios premises. EMIL expanded during 1981-82 and hired two film studio hangars besides half the area of the studio’s administrative block to accommodate the Works Offices, Design and Development Centre and other departments. There is probably no parallel anywhere else in the world, where a state-of-the-art electric vehicle was being made in a film studio! The Company had even obtained around 10 Acres of land from KIADB to construct its own factory & Offices on the outskirts of Mysore.
However, the initial excitement wore off and employees became frustrated and despondency set in. P L Mathew recalls that none of the employees were paid from October 1982 to March 1983 until finally ₹1 lakh was released to disburse arrears overdue to the suffering employees. During the last quarter of 1982 & the 1st quarter of 1983, there were no funds even to manage the day-to-day operations of the factory. EMIL’s K V Jayaraju said that the company needed at least ₹30 lakhs to survive. By this time, the State government had invested over ₹2.35 crores with little to show as returns for it. When EMIL approached KSFC for an additional ₹26 lakhs, it was not sanctioned. EMIL had made only 172 two-wheelers against the sanctioned capacity of 7000 vehicles.
Premier Studios at Mysuru was the location of EMIL manufacturing plant
Basavaraj M, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The company was visionary and had great ideas for diversification. There were plans to make electric vehicles to carry luggage and passengers in airports and railway stations. They wanted to develop logistics support vehicles for Industries & Ports to move parts and materials. All of these have become reality today as we can see ourselves.
Sadly, everything collapsed due to a leadership vacuum, lack of planning and regular funding. The protectionist and conservative business environment and politics of the day also caused its undoing. For EMIL, liberalization came a decade too late. Electrona-24, the EV two wheeler brand remained a dream that did not become a reality.
