Tata Motors signed an agreement to provide 25,000 XPRES–T electric vehicles (EV) to ridesharing platform Uber. Starting this month, phased deliveries of the vehicles to Uber fleet partners will start. The financial details of the agreement were not immediately made public, but despite the high initial cost of electric vehicles, fleet owners see better returns because these vehicles require less upkeep and running costs than cars powered by internal combustion engines. The government also provides a FAME subsidy on top of that.
The cost of an individual XPRES-T with a 315 km range is Rs 14.98 lakh (ex-showroom), plus a FAME subsidy of Rs 2.6 lakh. Across the Delhi National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad, Uber will use the vehicles for its premium category services.
“We are excited to partner with Uber, India’s top ridesharing platform, as part of our commitment to expand sustainable mobility in the nation. According to Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, “offering customers our environmentally friendly EV ride experiences via Uber’s premium category service will accelerate the adoption of green and clean personal ride sharing.”
In July 2021, Tata Motors launched the ‘XPRES’ brand for fleet customers. The XPRES-T EV is the first vehicle under the brand. T
The new XPRES-T electric sedan comes with two range options – 315km and 277 km (Automotive Research Association of India certified range under test conditions). The two models pack a high energy density battery of 26 kWh and 25.5 kWh which can be charged from 0-80% in 59 minutes and 110 minutes respectively, using fast charging, or can also be normally charged from any 15A plug point.
