As part of the World Environment Day celebrations, the Maharashtra government on Thursday signed MoUs with Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors to promote electric vehicles in the State.

In the two MoUs, the Maharashtra government said it will work closely with various fleet partners, taxi aggregators, logistics companies, amongst others, to deploy 1,000 electric cars over the next one year.

Under the aegis of the first MoU, M&M said it will make efforts to become fully electric-ready by further investing in its Chakan plant for manufacture of EVs, e-motor, controller, battery pack and other electric vehicle components for multiple mobility applications related to battery pack assembly of EVs. As part of this expansion plan, the company will invest an additional ₹500 crore.

Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said: “Now, we are investing further in next generation EV technology solutions and are actively engaging with the ecosystem stakeholders, both private and public to drive faster adoption of electric vehicles. The government of Maharashtra recognises this fact, and we are delighted to make the State a key partner in our growth over the coming years.”

The first deployment of EVs, as part of the MoU with M&M, will see 25 Mahindra e2oPlus vehicles ported on the Zoomcar platform in Mumbai.

The MoU between Tata Motors and the Maharashtra government was on similar lines but also included setting up of charging infrastructure in the State. “As part of our tender with EESL, we have already completed the production of 250 cars and initiated the execution of phase 2 orders. Today’s delivery of 5 Tigor EVs by EESL to the Maharashtra government has effectively paved way for connecting our aspirations in the e-mobility space with the government’s vision.

“With Tigor EV, we have begun our journey in boosting e-mobility and will offer a full range of electric vehicles to the Indian customers. We continue to work in a collaborative manner to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India,” said Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, Tata Motors.

The announcements, however, will not result into any new projects for either of the companies as the deployment of these EVs will be a part of a contract signed by both Tata Motors and M&M with state-run Energy Efficiency Services (EESL).

EESL will buy cars from the two automakers, who are currently the only ones in the country to sell electric cars, and then lease out these e-cars to several States including Maharashtra.

Last year, EESL had floated a global tender for 10,000 e-vehicles where Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra had emerged as successful bidders.

The first 500 cars have been supplied in the first phase of the tender, while the second phase has been put on hold till there is a clarity on the policy on charging stations as specification of charging stations will determine specification for the e-vehicle tender.

More States to go electric

EESL has signed up an agreement with Maharashtra for lease out of e-vehicles and installing the EV charging stations at the government offices as the State is envisioning generating investment worth ₹25,000 crore in EV and component manufacturing, assembly enterprises and charging equipment manufacturing under its new Electrical Vehicle and Related Infrastructure Policy - 2018 announced on Thursday in Mumbai.

According to EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar, the company is in discussions with several States, including Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh for supplying electric vehicles (EV).

Andhra Pradesh has signed an agreement to procure 10,000 EVs. Maharashtra has committed 1,000 cars in the first phase and Gujarat has opted for 7,000 cars, he added.

So far, EESL has supplied around 200 e-vehicles in Delhi NCR, more 150 cars to be added, while the first batch of 100 cars went to Andhra Pradesh.

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