EESL to procure 250 EVs from TATA Motors, Hyundai

New Delhi: State-owned Energy Efficiency Services on Thursday said it has placed order to procure 250 electric vehicles from Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India.

Tata Motors will supply 150 Nexon XZ+ electric compact SUVs, while Hyundai Motor India will provide 100 units of Kona electric Premium SUVs for the government use, a company statement said.

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) presented the letter of award for the tender to Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India on Thursday, it added.

EESL - under the administrative control of Ministry of Power - selected the two firms through an international competitive bidding process.

The letter of award for the procurement was presented to the two companies in the presence of Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, Tata Motors; Shailesh Chandra, president, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors and Tarun Garg, director Sales, Marketing & Service, Hyundai Motor India.

This procurement will utilise $5 million from the recent grant provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

EESL has received financing from the ADB towards the cost of scaling up and financing high priority areas like Demand-Side Energy Efficiency Sector Projects.

"We are also working on rapid establishment of EV charging stations, which will give a fillip to the electric vehicle sales, going forward," Saurabh Kumar, executive vice-chairperson, EESL said in the statement.

Hyundai will continue to bring world-class eco-friendly products and technologies for the Indian market, contributing towards the cleaner and greener environment, its MD & CEO Seon Seob Kim said.

"Electric mobility is gaining ground in the country and partnerships such as these are pivotal for building the requisite momentum," Tata Motors president, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Shailesh Chandra said.

EESL is seeking to leverage the immense potential of replacement of existing vehicles in the government departments for initial demand aggregation.

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

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), Kerala to be supplied in the initial phase.