Tata Motors Plans to Sell About 50,000 EVs in FY23, Double It in Next Fiscal Year

Tata Motors aims to sell about 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in the fiscal year to March 31, and double that in the 2023/24 period, Chairman N Chandrasekaran told a shareholders' meeting on Monday.

In 2021/22, Tata Motors sold 19,105 EVs, a growth of 353 percent from the previous fiscal year.

Chandrasekaran also said that his company's performance is expected to improve in this fiscal year as the overall supply situation, including that of semiconductors, is gradually improving and commodity prices are stabilising.

"We continue to work closely with our customers and ecosystem partners to mitigate risks and manage uncertainties. Accordingly, we expect performance to progressively improve through the year with the second half of FY23 being notably better than the first half," he said.

Electrification is the cornerstone of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's climate change and carbon reduction agenda and EVs are seen as a way to help India to cut its oil import bill and reduce pollution in major cities.

India wants electric models to make up 30 percent of total passenger car sales in the country by 2030, up from about 1 percent today, and e-scooters and e-bikes to account for 80 percent of total two-wheeler sales, up from about 2 percent.

Last month, Tata Motors said it has bagged an order for supply of 10,000 XPRES-T EV units from BluSmart Electric Mobility. The deployment of 10,000 units makes this the biggest ever EV fleet order in India, the auto major said in a statement.

With deliveries starting soon, these vehicles are an addition to the 3,500 XPRES-T EV order, which was signed by both the companies in October last year, and will be used across the country for commuters, in turn helping minimise the carbon footprint.

"Tata Motors is taking active steps towards the rapid electrification of mobility, and it is heartening to see renowned fleet aggregators joining the green mobility wave with us," Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra noted.

© Thomson Reuters 2022