Murugappa Family Scions Change Lanes To Electric Vehicles

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2022. See the full list here.

The Murugappa family, made up of the third- to sixth-generation scions of early Indian industrialist A.M. Murugappa Chettiar, saw their combined fortune rise 23% to $5.8 billion in the past 12 months, buoyed by strong group earnings. Now their diversified namesake group, with a portfolio that spans agriculture, engineering and financial services, is planning to spin its wheels again in India’s electric vehicle market.

Net profit at the Chennai-based Murugappa Group surged 23% to 55.2 billion rupees ($693 million) on revenue of 547.2 billion rupees for the year ended March 31. Tube Investments of India—which contributes over a fifth of the group’s sales—was a star performer, notching a twofold increase in FY2022 revenue. Eyeing the fast-growing mobility sector, the bicycle and steel tube maker is moving into EVs with a 10-billion-rupee investment. In September, it launched the electric three-wheeler Montra Electric through its newly minted subsidiary, TI Clean Mobility. The push is its second attempt to make a dent in the electric vehicle market, following the unsuccessful launch of an electric scooter in 2008.

“Electric vehicles will become the norm in the next 20 years,” Tube Investments chairman Arun Murugappan said last month in Chennai. “And electric three-wheelers is one of the segments with the biggest growth potential.” The market is projected to touch nearly $2 billion by 2027. Still, TI is entering a crowded space where fellow lister Anand Mahindra’s Mahindra Electric boasts a leading presence.

The first Montras will be delivered in October, the company says, with electric tractors and trucks next. It has already invested 4 billion rupees to buy a 70% stake in a Hyderabad-based e-tractor firm, Cellestial E-Mobility, in March and a 65% stake in Gurgaon-based e-truck outfit, IPL Tech Electric, in July.