Sajjan Jindal-led JSW group is in talks with Volkswagen AG to strengthen its electric vehicle foray. The company has already announced a Rs 40,000-crore investment in Odisha for an integrated EV and EV battery manufacturing project.

Though talks are at an early stage, informed sources said that, if successful, the tie-up with Volkswagen will not affect the strategic joint venture with China’s SAIC Motor. In December last year, the JSW group had said it would hold 35 per cent of MG Motor India.

MG Motor India is now the wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC Motor, which owns the British automotive brand Morris Garages. SAIC had said it would continue to support the joint venture with advanced technology and products to deliver mobility solutions with a firm focus on the Indian consumer.

Sources said though it is early days and a tie-up may or may not materialise, the JSW-Volkswagen handshake could be like a technology supply agreement. It is learnt that senior officials from the German automaker on Tuesday met the top leadership of the homegrown group, including Sajjan Jindal.

“We refrain from providing comments on market rumours and speculation,” a spokesperson from the JSW group told The Telegraph while reacting to reports of the tie-up.

The development comes days after the Volkswagen group and Mahindra & Mahindra announced their first supply agreement for EV components under their joint vision for electric mobility collaboration.

Under the agreement, Mahindra will become the first external partner to use Volkswagen’s “groundbreaking unified cell concept”, the core element of its battery strategy.

The Indian firm will receive components of Volkswagen’s Modular electric drive matrix platform for its purpose-built electric platform INGLO, on which M&M plans to launch five all-electric SUVs in India starting December 2024.

“The supply agreement will run over several years and will have a total volume of about 50 GWh over a lifetime, the companies had said.

Volkswagen’s MEB platform and its components are used by the group brands Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda, as well as external partners such as Ford and Mahindra. The possibility of JSW also using its MEB platform is not being ruled out.

Last month, the JSW group signed an agreement with the government of Odisha to set up the integrated EV and EV battery manufacturing project in the state. The project will come up at Cuttack and Paradeep. It consists of a 50GWH EV battery plant, EVs, lithium refinery, copper smelter and related component manufacturing units.

The $23 billion JSW group is engaged in core sectors such as steel, energy, cement, infrastructure, paints, ventures, and sports.