Tata Motors Emerges As Lowest Bidder For CESL's Rs 5,000 Crore Tender For 5,450 Electric Buses: Report

Tata Motors has emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rs 5000 crore worth electric bus tender floated by the state-owned Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), reports Economic Times.

The CESL is a subsidiary of the state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).

Other bidders in race for Rs 5,000 crore tender for 5,450 electric buses under Centre's FAME-II scheme were Switch Mobility (the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland), Evey Trans of the Olectra Group and VECV (a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors).

"Prices discovered are the lowest ever and more importantly, at par with or very close to the operational cost of diesel buses. The lowest price discovered for a 12-meter bus is Rs. 43.49/km, and a 9-m bus is Rs. 39.21/km. This includes the cost of electricity for charging of the buses," the CESL said in a statement on Tuesday (26 April).

The bidding was held in five categories – 12 meter low floor AC and non AC e-buses, 12 meter Standard floor non-AC and 9 meter standard floor AC and non-AC.

Tata Motors emerged as the lowest bidder for all five categories of the tender floated by Convergence Energy Services Ltd, sources were cited in the ET report.

The buses are expected to operate around 4.71 billion kilometers over twelve years saving 1.88 billion liters of fossil fuel. This will result in 3.31 million tonnes of CO₂ from tailpipe emissions, a major step towards mitigating climate change, the CESL said.