Tata Motors Bags India's Largest Electric Vehicle Fleet Order From Uber

Tata Motors, India’s largest electric passenger vehicle manufacturer, has signed an agreement with ride-hailing company Uber to supply 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs), the company said.

The agreement is the largest EV commitment between an automotive manufacturer and a ride-sharing platform in India. Under the agreement, Uber will deploy Tata Motors’ XPRES-T EVs by partnering fleet operators in Delhi National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad.

Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia, said in a statement, “Uber is committed to bringing sustainable and shared mobility to India. This partnership with Tata Motors is a major milestone in that journey. It represents the largest EV partnership yet between an automaker and a ride-sharing platform in India.”

Uber has committed to 100 per cent of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micro-mobility by 2040.

The announcement comes amid increasing interest in the ride-hailing industry to convert its fleet into EVs. This is Tata Motors’ second such large deal with a ride-hailing company.

Tata had signed an agreement with Gurugram-based all-electric cab company BluSmart Mobility for delivering 10,000 XPRES-T EVs in June last year. Uber’s rival Ola Cabs also has plans to deploy about 1,000 cars as part of its Bengaluru EV cab pilot.

The cars will be delivered in a phased manner, starting this month. However, the company did not respond to queries sent about the valuation of the deal and the timeline.

According to company sources, Uber is not buying these cars. The delivery of vehicles will be provided to Uber’s fleet partners. Uber works with multiple fleet partners who run their vehicles on the ride-sharing platform across multiple cities and regions.

Some of the large fleet partner organisations will be taking deliveries of Tata EVs, according to sources. The fleet owners will be able to onboard EVs to be run on the Uber platform in a much quicker way, bringing down the barriers to going electric.

Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said in a company statement: “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. While enhanced safety, silent, and premium in-cabin experience provides customers with a relaxed ride, the fast-charging 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,” he added.

Tata Motors launched the XPRES brand in July 2021 exclusively for fleet customers, and the XPRES-T EV as the first vehicle under this brand. The carmaker currently shares more than 70 per cent of overall electric four-wheeler passenger cars in the country.