Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 30: Tata Motors expects demand for its electric commercial vehicles (CVs) to remain strong and grow further, backed by a healthy order book across segments, Managing Director and CEO Girish Wagh said.
The company also expects the supply-chain bottleneck involving cells imported from China, which has affected production of its Intra EV, to be completely resolved by the end of the ongoing quarter.
“On EVs, the demand outlook is quite positive,” Wagh told analysts.
During the first quarter of FY27, Tata Motors received more than 3,400 orders for electric commercial vehicles across segments, building on the momentum recorded during the second half of the previous financial year.
Wagh said additional tenders under the Centre's PM-eBus Sewa scheme are also expected, providing further opportunities for the company's electric commercial vehicle business.
“In addition to that, as a part of PM-eBus Sewa, there are a few more newer tenders which are also on the way. We are quite positive on that,” he said.
The company is also witnessing strong demand for its electric small commercial vehicle (SCV) pickup, which is sold directly through the retail market.
Wagh said the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric models such as the Intra EV and Ace Pro has become increasingly attractive compared with their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.
“The TCO parity of Intra, Ace Pro has become very attractive in comparison to their ICE ‘brothers’. Therefore, from that perspective, the demand will remain strong and will continue to grow,” he said.
On the company's ability to meet rising EV demand, Wagh said Tata Motors' in-house manufacturing capacity was not a concern. Instead, the immediate challenge has been the availability and lead time of battery cells imported from China.
“In-house capacity is not a challenge at all,” he said.
According to Wagh, the increase in demand for Tata Motors' electric vehicles has resulted in a corresponding rise in the company's requirement for battery cells from China. At the same time, the share of electric vehicles in China's domestic market has also increased, further pushing up demand for cells.
This has created a bottleneck in the supply chain, increasing the time required to bring cells to India and convert them into batteries for electric vehicles.
Wagh said the company had already taken steps to address the issue by placing higher-volume orders around two months ago.
“We have placed higher set of orders already around two months back. So, towards the end of this quarter, we should have the supplies completely debottlenecked from the perspective of the demand as we see,” he said.
Tata Motors recorded a more than four-fold increase in electric SCV volumes during the first quarter of FY27, reaching around 3,200 units.
The company also had orders for more than 850 electric buses in hand during the quarter.
The strong order pipeline, growing retail demand for electric small commercial vehicles and expected new tenders under PM-eBus Sewa are expected to support Tata Motors' electric commercial vehicle business in the coming quarters.
The company expects the improvement in battery-cell supplies towards the end of the current quarter to help it meet the rising demand and further strengthen its electric commercial vehicle operations.