Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) has selected Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India in an international bidding process for procurement of 250 electric vehicles (EVs) for government entities.
Tata Motors will supply 150 Nexon electric compact SUVs and Hyundai will supply 100 Kona electric premium SUVs.
The total tender value is Rs 41.6 crore. For the procurement, EESL would utilise the $5-million (around Rs 37-crore) grant recently provided to it by the Asian Development Bank.
The government’s flagship energy efficiency company said it would procure the Nexons at Rs 14.86 lakh each — Rs 13,000 cheaper than its ex-showroom price. The Konas, which offer a higher range, would be procured at an 11 per cent lower price band of Rs 21.36 lakh, with a standard three-year warranty.
These EVs would replace the petrol and diesel vehicles of the Central and state governments. This is Tata Motor’s second partnership with EESL in the EV space. In 2017, the firm, along with Mahindra & Mahindra, won the first EESL tender to supply 10,000 EVs, to be used by government officials. However, a number of these vehicles could not be put to use because of the low range. EESL has procured 1,547 EVs so far, of which 692 were from Tata Motors, 832 from Mahindra, and 10 each from Hyundai and MG Motor. Vehicles procured by EESL would be used to service the order of 300 long-range EVs from The Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology, Kerala, to be supplied in the initial phase.
