Tata Motors bags Rs 1,120 crore order to provide 10,000 electric vehicles to state-run EESL

Government-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd or EESL on Friday said it will procure 10,000 electric cars from Tata Motors in an order valued at around Rs 1,120 crore. Tata Motors will supply the electric vehicles (EVs) in two phases with 500 e-cars in the first phase in November 2017 and the remaining 9,500 electric vehicles (EVs) in the second phase, EESL said in a statement. "The company (Tata Motors) was selected through an international competitive bidding aimed at increased participation," it said.

EESL said Tata Motors quoted the lowest price of Rs 10.16 lakh, exclusive of GST in the competitive bidding. The vehicle will be provided for Rs 11.2 lakh, which will be inclusive of GST and comprehensive 5 year warranty which is 25 per cent below the current retail price of a similar e-car with 3 year warranty, it added.

All these 10,000 electric cars will be procured within nine months period from the date of issue of letter of intent, EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar said. These electric cars are meant for use by ministries and government departments, either through direct purchase from EESL or lease, he explained.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Nissan had also participated in the tender and bids for Tata Motors and M&M were opened. EESL claimed that its tender was for the world's largest single electric vehicle procurement.

The state-run company, along with procurement of 10,000 EVs, would also identify a service provider agency. "This agency, appointed through competitive bidding, will carry out end-to-end fleet management of the procured vehicles for the concerned government customer," the company said in a statement.

EESL will also be responsible for coordination between appointed agencies, monitoring and supervision, reporting, complaint redressal and payments. Citing a Niti Aayog report, EESL said making India's passenger mobility shared, electric, and connected can cut the country's energy demand by 64 per cent and carbon emissions by 37 per cent in 2030. "This would result in a reduction of 156 Mtoe (million tonne oil equivalent) in diesel and petrol consumption for that year & at USD 52/bbl of crude, this would imply a net savings of roughly Rs 3.9 lakh crore in 2030," the company said.

(With inputs from PTI)