Tata Motors to supply 25,000 EVs to Uber

Tata Motors on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with cab aggregator Uber to supply 25,000 XPRES–T electric vehicles (EVs) to its fleet partners.

The automaker said it will be aiding Uber in electrifying their services across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

The carmaker will begin the deliveries of the cars to Uber fleet partners in a phased manner, starting this month.

The deal comes eight months after Tata Motors bagged its largest EV order from ride-hailing startup BluSmart Electric Mobility to supply 10,000 XPRES–T EV cars.

Tata Motors launched the XPRES brand in July 2021, exclusively for fleet customers and XPRES-T EV is the first vehicle under the brand. The new XPRES-T electric sedan comes with 2 range options – 315km and 277km (ARAI certified range under test conditions). The cars come with a battery of 26 kWh and 25.5 kWh which can be charged from 0-80% in 59 mins and 110 mins respectively, using fast charging or can also be normally charged from any 15 A plug point. The cars come with zero tail-pipe emission, single speed automatic transmission, dual airbags, and ABS with EBD as standard across variants.

"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," said Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.

"The XPRES-T EV is a very attractive option both for customers and operators. While enhanced safety, silent and premium in cabin experience provides the customers with a relaxed ride, the fastcharging solution, driving comfort and the cost effectiveness of the EV makes it an attractive business proposition for our fleet partners. This partnership will further cement our market position in the fleet segment," Chandra added.

Tata Motors is leading the e-mobility wave in India with over 50,000 Tata EVs rolled out from the plant to date in the personal and fleet segment.

Uber is committed to bringing sustainable, shared mobility to India, and this partnership with Tata Motors is a major milestone on that journey, said Prabhjeet Singh, president at Uber India and South Asia.

"It represents the largest EV partnership yet between an automaker and a ridesharing platform in India. It will supercharge the transition to zero emissions on the Uber platform as we work towards building a sustainable future. We are committed to doing our part to bring down the barriers to going electric by working with industry partners that are leading the change," Singh added.

Electric vehicles will create material new revenue and profit pools, generating $76 billion-$100 billion of cumulative revenue opportunity and $8 billion-$11 billion of profit across the EV value chain, according to a report by Bain & Company. The global consultancy expects 35-40% of all vehicles sold in India by 2030 to be EVs, up from 2% in 2022.