Published Online:December 2024
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Case Folio
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJCF021224
Author Name:Koti Vinod Babu and V Namratha Prasad
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:23-38
The case is about the efforts of Hemalatha Annamalai (Annamalai) in establishing Ampere Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (Ampere), an early mover in India’s electric vehicles (EV) market. Annamalai was a serial entrepreneur who hit upon the idea of disrupting the Indian automobile industry with EVs and did extensive market research in that regard. She then set up Ampere in 2008 with the aim of achieving “business growth with social inclusiveness”. The case documents Annamalai’s efforts to introduce a range of EVs with the intention of making the maximum social impact, especially in rural markets. It describes the way she handled critical business challenges and led Ampere to become one of the leading brands in the Indian personal and last mile mobility EV segment. Though Annamalai exited Ampere in 2019, she continued to serve as a mentor to new entrepreneurs and provided investment to novel ventures in the EV industry. Can successful entrepreneurs like Annamalai inspire others to achieve their entrepreneurial ambitions?
In September 2022, while delivering a speech at the second convocation of the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE)4 at Visakhapatnam, India, Hemalatha Annamalai (Annamalai), Founder and Vice-Chair of Green Collar Agritech Solutions Pvt. Ltd5 (Green Collar) and Former CEO of Ampere Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (Ampere), stated that students of IIPE could play a key role in developing clean energy sources. She added, “Without electricity, there would be no sewing machines or rice mills or pumps for irrigating crops. Businesses would not be able to function at night and it would be nearly impossible to attract companies which could provide jobs and opportunities to young people. Big breakthroughs were coming in the form of energy storage and new battery storage technology could see the world moving more rapidly to renewable energy (sic).”