03 Nov 2021
Great News for small commercial vehicle owners. Tata Motors is expected to launch electric small commercial vehicles (SCVs) for last-mile (Delivery)transportation soon.
A senior official said that Tata Motors, a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in India, is expected to launch an electric version in a small commercial vehicle range. With this launch, the opportunity for electrification in the transportation segment will enhance.
Apart from leveraging synergies with the company's passenger vehicle business unit, the commercial vehicle unit of Tata Motors is in discussion with few e-commerce players to develop its electric small commercial vehicles (SCVs) for last-mile delivery.
Girish Wagh, the executive director, Tata Motors, told PTI, that the push for the last mile delivery is coming from the benefit of working expense that an electric vehicle has over the regular adaptation.
He also added that stricter emissions regulations have pushed up the price of diesel SCVs, and with the price of batteries getting down, the price gap between diesel SCVs and their electric counterpart is gradually narrowing.
Today driving of SCVs is all about targeting net zero emission of e-commerce companies. They are net-zero in their operations. There are zero emissions and therefore looking for an electric vehicle for last-mile transportation." Some e-commerce players said, We are on a path of development in the transportation sector by producing electric vehicles," Wagh said.
When asked about the launch time of the electric SCV, he said "soon" without specifying details. On the synergies drawn from the company's passenger vehicle units for EVs, Wagh said, "Battery packaging is easier in small commercial vehicles than in cars. Therefore, the form factor is not that much of a challenge".
For larger and heavier commercial vehicles, Wagh said, "the country most likely can move towards fuel cell electric". He said, "In the last mile, the competitive intensity is increasing. Here, we compete with three-wheelers as well as four-wheelers". To address the challenge, he said the company is focusing on broadening its product range for end-use purposes.
The company has taken product action like launching the petrol version of its mini truck ACE that "actually ensures that the vehicle is priced the same as it was in the BS-IV era" as prices of the diesel variant have gone up significantly. In addition, Wagh said, transitioning to BS-VI, Tata Motors has also introduced a CNG version of the ACE.
Also, Tata Motors has introduced new variants of its mini trucks Intra and Yodha pickup vehicles. He said, adding the second would be widening the service reach as customers of SCVs do not like to travel long distances for servicing their vehicles.
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