To maintain the growing pace, Tata Motors Ltd. anticipates that the early adopters of electric passenger vehicles may be slowing down. As a result, the manufacturer will concentrate more on expanding the Indian market for electric vehicles this fiscal year.
The automaker’s sales of electric vehicles increased by 48% year over year to 73,800 units, although it fell short of its prior goal of selling 1 lakh vehicles.
“We are clear that the phase of early majority wanting to come in on an enthusiastic mode is probably getting over,” Group CFO Balaji in a post-earnings call.
Balaji noted that the new majority set of customers that are going to come are those who require much more reassurance in terms of charging infrastructure, total cost of ownership, residual value, and variety of models and use cases. “So, our focus this year is to work on the market development front on stepping up the electric vehicle penetration,” he said.
Electric vehicle penetration in India’s passenger vehicle segment now stands at around 2.3 percent. With four models, electric vehicles now account for 13 per cent of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle powertrain mix, up from 9 per cent in FY23. The automaker, which launched Punch EV in January, is looking to electric vehicle sales momentum with the launch of Curvv EV this year.
Tata Motors is working with charge point operators and oil-marketing companies to set up highway charging infrastructure and community charging. “We are working with charge point operators to set up almost 22,000 chargers and with solar rooftop companies to make electric vehicles more economically viable. There are a lot of granular interventions we are onto, which would help drive electric vehicle penetration substantially higher,” Balaji added.
According to the management, the adoption of electric vehicles has been made easier by the introduction of new models and the development of better charging infrastructure. This fiscal year, several OEM launches are anticipated to further lower the barriers to adoption.
When asked about how electric vehicle sales are evolving, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility MD Shailesh Chandra told investors that he sees strong growth in the segment with barriers to adoption being reduced and new model launches, not just by Tata Motors, but also by other automakers. “There will be intensity of pitch in favour of electric vehicles,” he said.
“We should not compare with what is happening in the US or anywhere else because those are for other factors, which does not apply to India,” Chandra added.