As govt’s EV push kicks into next gear, 5L electric cars may be rolled out for babus

A plug is seen coming from the Chevrolet Volt electric car during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (UNITED STATES) - RTR23CT6

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The process of electrification of mobility has gathered further pace as the government is now contemplating replacing its half a million vehicles into electric vehicles.

Government offices, state-owned companies and institutions together which use around 500,000 petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, will be encouraged to switch to electric mobility over the next 5-6 years.

Some of these government-owned companies have already acquired electric vehicles for their official purposes. They even have a dedicated charging infrastructure within their office premises, especially in Delhi and Noida.

Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL, said, "EESL is the implementing arm of the government. This is something we have proposed to the government. If the government agrees then there will be a directive to EESL. Should that happen then the timeline will be decided. In the next 4-5 years it should happen.”

A few weeks ago Energy Efficiency Services (EESL), a government-owned company, had rolled out a Rs 1120 crore tender to procure 10,000 electric cars which will be leased to public sector undertakings.

Tata Motors emerged as the lowest bidder for the tender and will thus supply a major part of the contract. The second lowest bidder Mahindra & Mahindra has committed to supplying 150 units of the first phase of 500 electric cars.

The first batch of 500 cars will have to be supplied before end of next month while the balance needs to be supplied in the following eight months. Tata Motors will supply the electric version of the Tigor compact sedan while Mahindra will supply the electric version of the Verito, which is a slightly bigger car than the Tigor.

Sources say that based on delivery schedules of the current order EESL will prepare the roll-out of a second tender which is expected to come by the middle of next year. This tender will be bigger than the current order for 10,000 cars.

Presently, cost of electric cars is prohibitively high due to the high cost of batteries which typically make up 40-50 percent of the total cost of acquisition of the vehicle depending on the vehicle type.

“Globally, we have Samsung and LG from Korea, Panasonic from Japan and lots of manufacturers from China and small manufacturers in US and Europe. But there are no battery cell manufacturers in India. When local manufacturing begins then cost of battery will come down significantly and electric cars will get more affordable,” said Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, speaking to Moneycontrol.

EESL is rolling out similar tenders for procuring electric three-wheelers and electric buses. This is a part of the initial push by the government to fast-track adoption of electric vehicles as a means of replacing the traditional petrol and diesel-operated vehicles.