Tata Motors to sell 25,000 EVs to Uber: A look at how electric vehicle are emerging as the future of Indian automobile market

By: Yash Gupte

The 999,949 EVs sold in CY2022 represent a significant 210 percent year-on-year increase over the 322,871 units sold in CY2021.

On Monday, February 20, Tata Motors and Uber inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to put 25,000 XPRES-T EVs into Uber's premium category service, marking the largest electric vehicle (EV) agreement to date between an automaker and a ridesharing platform. The XPRES-T EV is the first car sold under the "XPRES" brand, which Tata Motors established solely for fleet customers in July 2021. According to the agreement, fleet operators in the Delhi National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad will use Uber to deploy Tata Motors' XPRES-T EVs. Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia, said in a statement, “Uber is committed to bringing sustainable and shared mobility to India.

In accordance with the Contract, Tata Motors will start delivering the vehicles to Uber fleet partners this month in phases. Tata Motors has already shipped 50,000 EVs from its production facility into the personal and fleet markets. On the other hand, Uber has committed to 100 percent of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles by 2040. The electric vehicle market in India has been expanding gradually over the years.

This year’s Auto Expo was held in Greater Noida from January 11 to January 18. This year’s Auto Expo was different from the earlier ones due to the dominance of electric vehicles. The event was jam-packed with EV displays. The largest auto exhibition in India featured up to 16 new four-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs). Maruti opened the 2023 International Auto Exhibition, and with the eVX, the brand has finally made a firm commitment to electric mobility. The design of this idea, which has a 60kwh battery pack giving over 500km of range, is dominated by bold style and boxy SUV dimensions. Apart from Maruti Suzuki, many auto giants like Toyota, Tata, Kia, Lexus, MG and Hyundai displayed new EVs. Coming back to the agreements signed between Tata and fleet operators, the former   had signed an agreement with Gurugram-based all-electric cab company BluSmart Mobility for delivering 10,000 XPRES-T EVs in June last year.

The introduction and launch of new EVs show the demand of EVs in India. The electric vehicle sales in India in the calendar year 2022 brought cheers to the automobile industry in the country. Nowadays, many people are looking forward to buy EVs instead of diesel and petrol cars. As the electric vehicle market is rapidly expanding in the country, India Tracker takes a look at the sale of electric vehicles in last few years. The 999,949 EVs sold in CY2022 represent a significant 210 percent year-on-year increase over the 322,871 units sold in CY2021. The two and three-wheeler segments, both referred to as the "low-hanging fruits" of the EV industry, are responsible for the majority of the growth. It makes sense that they are the main drivers of EV sales because they are cheaper than the electric passenger cars or commercial vehicle segments.

The company with the largest portfolio of EVs, Tata Motors, sold 30,284 units and holds an 80 percent market share. With 3,390 vehicles, MG Motor India holds a 9 percent market share.

With sale of 622,337 units, electric two-wheelers account for 62.23 percent of total EV sales in India in 2022 and 4 percent of India’s overall two-wheeler market which recorded cumulative sales of 1,53,07,255 units. The chart below takes a look at the sales of electric vehicles in the country since 2015.

The electric vehicle market in India has come a long way from a sale of 7,772 units in 2015 to around one million in 2022. The highest year-on-year growth in the sale of EVs in the country was recorded in 2016 at 531.22 percent. The EV sales jumped from 7,772 in 2015 to 49,065 in 2016. The rise in product availability in the market, the high cost of petrol, diesel, and compressed natural gas, as well as state subsidies and incentives provided under FAME II scheme, are all factors that contributed to the domestic EV industry's sales growth in 2022. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME II), is a scheme launched by the Government of India to give a boost to development of Electric Vehicles. The Central Government has allocated a budget of Rs 10,000 crores for the second phase of this scheme. The scheme was launched to achieve the goals of National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP). Phase I lasted from 2015 to 2019 and Phase II of FAME was launched in 2019.

Though electric vehicle sales in India have crossed a mark of one million in 2022, there are few concerns which would haunt the future of EV sales in the country. According to Manu Sharma, spokesperson of the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), “A long-term policy with greater focus on sourcing, a strong supply chain for crucial raw materials such as rare earth metals, and country-level arrangements are the need of the hour to avoid overdependence on midstream suppliers such as China. If these aren't in place, the EV industry's growth plans could be impacted.” He further added that if the supply chain is disrupted due to Covid, there will be a shortage of raw material and semiconductors.

The numbers clearly indicate that the electric vehicles will be dominating the automobile market in near future.