Tata Motors expects a decrease in the number of early adopters of electric passenger cars and, in order to sustain development momentum, intends to focus on growing the market for electric vehicles in India this fiscal year. Despite a 48% year-over-year rise in electric vehicle sales to 73,800 units, the manufacturer failed to meet its goal of selling 100,000 electric vehicles. The time of enthusiastic early majority buyers is probably coming to an end, Group CFO PB Balaji said in a post-earnings call.
Balaji stressed that more assurances about residual value, total cost of ownership, charging infrastructure, and a range of models and use cases will be necessary for the next generation of buyers. Tata Motors will therefore be concentrating on market development this year to increase the penetration of electric vehicles.
Currently, 2.3% of India’s passenger car market is made up of electric vehicles. Tata Motors has increased the percentage of electric vehicles to 13% of its passenger vehicle powertrain mix from 9% in FY23. The company hopes to maintain the momentum in electric car sales after the Punch EV’s January introduction by introducing the Curvv EV later this year.
Highway and community charging infrastructure is being established by Tata Motors in partnership with charge point operators and oil-marketing firms. To increase the affordability of electric vehicles, they intend to install close to 22,000 chargers and collaborate with solar rooftop businesses. These thorough initiatives should greatly increase the use of electric vehicles.
The management thinks that the introduction of new models and enhanced charging infrastructure has reduced the obstacles to the adoption of electric vehicles. With so many launches by OEMs scheduled for this fiscal year, they anticipate significant reductions in these obstacles.
Reducing adoption obstacles and new model introductions from Tata Motors and other automakers were two reasons given by MD of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Shailesh Chandra for his optimism regarding the segment’s growth. He noted that support for electric vehicles is growing, but he issued a warning not to compare India’s market to the US or any other nation because there are distinct forces at play.
