Tata Motors, the frontrunner in India's EV market, is reportedly looking to separate its EV business regarding channel strategy and inventory management, highlighting its sales focus moving from B2B to B2C as consumers' interest in EVs is growing.
The Economic Times, quoting sources, reported that Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, Tata Group's EV subsidiary, will formulate EV channel strategies, which include EV showrooms' design, location, and numbers, in the second quarter of 2023 and subsequently commence operations of the showrooms over the next six to twelve months.
The report quoted a Tata Motors spokesperson saying that beginning in April, Tata Motors dealers will bill ICE models to Tata Passenger Vehicles and EV models to Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. In addition to separate sales channels, Tata Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility will have separate inventory funding.
Thanks to more affordable offerings compared with competitors, Tata Motors' products accounted for about 80% of India's EV sales. P B Balaji, Tata Group's CFO, said in the latest earnings call on January 25 that the automaker had sold 50,000 EVs accumulatively, including almost 37,000 EVs in this fiscal year.
During India's Auto Expo car show held in January, Tata Motors showcased five EV models and one truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells as Tata Motors bets on clean vehicles for its future strategy. Tata Motors has set a target of launching ten EV models by fiscal 2026.
During the car show, N. Chandrasekaran, Tata Motor's chairman, said that the transition to electric mobility in India would happen much faster than people imagine, adding that Tata is confident about its strategy.
Opening showrooms for the consumer market may imply that Tata Motors is changing tack for its EV strategy, which highly relies on commercial customers and fleet operators. In February Tata Motors signed an MoU with Uber, offering 25,000 EVs on Uber's platform. In March, Tata Motors received an order of 1,000 Xpress T EVs from OHM E Logistics in Hyderabad.
