Uber and India-based Tata Motors announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 20. Tata will supply Uber with 25,000 EVs in India starting in this month, facilitating the ride-hailing service company's effort to electrify its global fleets by 2040.
According to an announcement, the agreement is the largest EV commitment between an automaker and a ridesharing platform in India so far. Tata will deliver the XPRES-T EVs in phases starting in February. The vehicles will be used by uber fleet partners in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
Tata launched the XPRES brand in July 2021 exclusively for fleet customers. The XPRES-T EV is the first EV under the brand. The carmaker said the vehicle is a sedan with 315km and 277km range options. Charging from 0% to 80% takes 59 and 110 minutes, respectively.
According to Tata, it has rolled out more than 50,000 EVs from the plant to date in the personal and fleet segment. Data from Vahan Dashboard shows that Tata saw 34,901 vehicle registration of four-wheelers on home turf in 2022.
MG Motor India, a brand owned by China-based SAIC Motor, was ranked second with a registration of 3,419. Vahan Dashboard is a website belonging to India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
India's top electric four-wheeler makers by vehicle registration, 2020-2022 | |||
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
Tata Motors | 2672 | 10051 | 34901 |
MG Motor India | 769 | 2350 | 3419 |
PMI Electro Mobility | 2 | 244 | 786 |
Olectra Greentech | 55 | 155 | 612 |
Hyundai Motor India | 202 | 160 | 598 |
BYD India | 0 | 2 | 458 |
Source: Vahan Dashboard, compiled by DIGITIMES Asia, February 2023
While Tata currently leads in India, it will face more intense competition from overseas rivals like Hyundai Motor and BYD in the coming years. The partnership with Uber can help Tata increase its market share more rapidly.
The carmaker has been exploring ways to scale up its EV business. According to Nikkei Asia, Tata is considering building battery plants in India and Europe to lower production costs.
It will also work on improving charging infrastructure. Tata Power, India's largest integrated power company, aims to increase charging stations from 4,500 to 25,000 in the next five years.
The MoU will also benefit Uber. In 2020, the company announced a plan to achieve 100% zero-emission with its global fleet by 2040. It will invest US$800 million in the effort. Electrek reported that Uber reached a milestone of completing 2 billion trips in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Jingyue Hsiao contributed to this story.
