Tata Motors eyes export of e-buses
Tata Motors says it hopes to tap the export market for its newly launched electric buses.
The company has started delivery of these to six different state transport undertakings in India, after winning in competitive tenders.
“We would definitely like to explore the export market, especially the Saarc (Southeast Asian) region,” Rohit Srivastava, vice-president and head (buses), tells BusinessStandard here. “We have made huge investments in the development and design of these buses, an indigenous product.
These are being made at the Tata Motors and Tata Marcopolo factories in Dharwad, Karnataka.
On Sunday, the company delivered the first of an order for 40 of these buses to Lucknow City Transport Services. Srivastava says the average price of each is ~1 crore.
Of tenders floated in 10 cities, Tata Motors had won the bid to supply a total of 255 in six cities — Lucknow, Jammu, Kolkata, Indore, Guwahati and Jaipur, for the respective public transportation agencies. The firm got the contract for supplying 62 of the total bus requirement across these 10 cities.
“We have 51-52 per cent market share of the commercial vehicles space in India and would want to retain this under the electric vehicle category, too,” Srivastava says. The tendering process for some more cities is on the anvil. The firm is optimistic on growth prospects in the segment, with the concerns on pollution and energy efficiency.
Their Ultra Electric bus has a travel range of up to 150 km on a single charge. Srivastava says the Li-ion batteries have been placed on the roof, to prevent breakdown due to waterlogging. The batteries are liquid cooled. No gear shifts are needed. Key traction components have been sourced from suppliers in the US, Germany and China. The commercial launch was after testing and validation across states, to establish the performance in diverse terrain, the company says.