India: EESL To Source 250 Electric Vehicles From Tata Motors, Hyundai

India’s Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has announced that it will procure 250 electric vehicles from Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India.

EESL settled on the two firms after an international competitive bidding process.

The two firms had won the global tender to supply 150 Nexon electric compact SUVs and 100 Kona electric premium SUVs, respectively, for government use.

EESL will procure Tata Nexon at Rs 14.86 lakh each, Rs 13,000 cheaper than its ex-showroom price of Rs 14.99 lakh, whereas Hyundai Kona, which offers a higher range, will be procured at an 11 per cent lower price band of Rs 21.36 lakh and with a standard three-year warranty.

These electric vehicles will replace the existing fleet of petrol and diesel vehicles of the central and state Governments.

EESL has already received an order for 300 Long Range EVs from The Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) in Kerala to be supplied in initial phase.

EESL had received financing from Asian Development Bank towards the cost of scaling up and financing high priority areas like Demand Side Energy Efficiency Sector Projects. The EV procurement will utilize $5 million from that grant.

“This will greatly enhance the energy security of the country and will also lead to reduction in GHG emissions from the transport sector. Furthermore, we’re also working on rapid establishment of EV charging stations, which will give a fillip to the electric vehicle sales, going forward,” Saurabh Kumar, MD, EESL said.

EESL is seeking to create the market for electric vehicles through its business model of aggregation of demand and bulk procurement. It leverages the immense potential of replacement of existing vehicles in the government departments for initial demand aggregation.

Source:www.energynewsafrica.com