Jupiter wagons plans EV foray

Wagon manufacturer and comprehensive mobility solutions provider Jupiter Wagons Ltd has lined up investment plans of ₹1,000 crore over the next one and a half years. The investments will be done towards boosting wagon manufacturing, and foray into commercial electric vehicle manufacturing.

The Kolkata based company is currently present in spaces like freight wagons manufacturing, along with locomotives, passenger coaches (LHB), braking systems, metro coach, among others and products such as couplers, draft gears, and bogies.

The company seems to be in an expansion mode and will use the proceeds from the successful qualified institutional placement (QIP) round in December towards investments in the manufacturing units. It may be noted that Jupiter Wagons embarked on a QIP venture with a goal of raising approximately ₹1,500 crore. The board authorized it to raise ₹700 crores and it subsequently secured ₹403 crore through QIP route in December 2023.

"We have lined up expansion plans for foundry output up to 5000 MT per month, by adding and machinery as well as new facilities across our manufacturing network. Accordingly, our investments have been worked out with due details," Vivek Lohia, Managing Director, Jupiter Wagons said.

According to the company, the infusion of funds is earmarked for various purposes, including the expansion of the existing foundry plant at the manufacturing unit in Kolkata. Plans are underway to scale up manufacturing capacity from 2,500 tonnes per month facilitated by the establishment of a new foundry plant in Jabalpur, backward integration of its wagon business, where Jupiter will start making railway wheel sets apart from braking system and foundry operations that it has recently started."

Additionally, Jupiter Wagons aims to increase its manufacturing capability from 700 wagons to 800 wagons by the end of the financial year and 1000 by next year, the company said.  

With the recent orders from the government, defense ministry, and private sector, Jupiter Wagon’s order book has grown to ₹5,000 crore. The orders include a contract from the ministry of railways for manufacturing and supply of 4,000 BOXNS wagons valued at Rs 1,617 crore, and manufacture and supply 4 rakes of double decker automobile carrier wagons worth approximately Rs 100 crore from a leading automobile manufacturer. The company is set to supply 697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) Wagons for ₹473 crore.