Tata Motors emerges lowest bidder for electric buses in CESL tender
New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Tata Motors has emerged as the lowest bidder in the mega tender for 5450 electric buses floated by Convergence Energy Services Ltd CESL under the remodelled FAME II scheme the government said on Tuesday Discovered prices of the Grand Challenge tender are between 15 per cent and 48 per cent lower than the price discovered by the cities and even at par or close to the operational cost of diesel vehicles according to official releases This tender establishes a benchmark for public transit going forward in terms of a business model It allows state agencies to purchase mobility as a service – where operators are paid a fixed price denominated as rupees per kilometre over a period of time the Heavy Industry Ministry said in a release The ministry said that the tender contains the largest ever aggregation of electric buses – 5450 buses across five major cities which have indicated their demand for electric buses The participating cities are Kolkata Delhi Bangalore Hyderabad and Surat Price bids of the tender process under the remodelled FAME II scheme for electric buses were opened by the ministry on Tuesday The rates seen in this tender are the lowest ever – with Tata Motors coming across as the least cost bidder across all five categories of electric buses contained in the tender the ministry said in a statement The Power Ministry in a release said that 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 4349km and a 9-meter bus is Rs 3921km This includes the cost of electricity for charging of the buses it stated The prices realized set a benchmark for public transport the price point which may encourage even small cities to adopt electric vehicles The Heavy Ministry stated that at these rates electric buses become extremely affordable across the country This public-private model has emerged as a way for cities to introduce or scale electric bus services With a burgeoning demand for mobility this model holds the potential to serve as a solution to cover the investment needs of the bus sector and ramp up bus services it said In an industry first the Grand Challenge tender homogenizes demand for electric buses – making this a step closer to standardization of modern public mobility The value of the tender is over Rs 5000 crores The buses are expected to operate around 471 billion kilometres over 12 years saving 188 billion litres of fossil fuel This will result in 331 million tonnes of CO2e from tailpipe emissions a major step towards mitigating climate change Buses will benefit from the central government subsidy offered under the remodelled FAME II scheme administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries With the very low discovered prices under the Grand Challenge a savings of approximately Rs 361 crore of national subsidy can be realized which in turn may be utilized for additional buses The contract term is 12 years with assured kilometres of 10 lakh per bus and a credible payment security system Special emphasis was paid to the requirement for domestic content specifications for which are the highest to date At least 25000 people will be employed through this tender of which 10 per cent will be women This does not include new employment created through new manufacturing facilities In June 2021 the FAME II scheme was remodelled and its delivery mechanism changed to better suit the needs of state transport undertakings especially in their financial ability to afford electric buses The main objective of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II FAME India Phase II scheme is to encourage faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles by way of offering upfront incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and also by establishing necessary charging infrastructure for EVs PTI KKS RR MR MR
New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Tata Motors has emerged as the lowest bidder in the mega tender for 5450 electric buses floated by Convergence Energy Services Ltd CESL under the remodelled FAME II scheme the government said on Tuesday Discovered prices of the Grand Challenge tender are between 15 per cent and 48 per cent lower than the price discovered by the cities and even at par or close to the operational cost of diesel vehicles according to official releases This tender establishes a benchmark for public transit going forward in terms of a business model It allows state agencies to purchase mobility as a service – where operators are paid a fixed price denominated as rupees per kilometre over a period of time the Heavy Industry Ministry said in a release The ministry said that the tender contains the largest ever aggregation of electric buses – 5450 buses across five major cities which have indicated their demand for electric buses The participating cities are Kolkata Delhi Bangalore Hyderabad and Surat Price bids of the tender process under the remodelled FAME II scheme for electric buses were opened by the ministry on Tuesday The rates seen in this tender are the lowest ever – with Tata Motors coming across as the least cost bidder across all five categories of electric buses contained in the tender the ministry said in a statement The Power Ministry in a release said that 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 4349km and a 9-meter bus is Rs 3921km This includes the cost of electricity for charging of the buses it stated The prices realized set a benchmark for public transport the price point which may encourage even small cities to adopt electric vehicles The Heavy Ministry stated that at these rates electric buses become extremely affordable across the country This public-private model has emerged as a way for cities to introduce or scale electric bus services With a burgeoning demand for mobility this model holds the potential to serve as a solution to cover the investment needs of the bus sector and ramp up bus services it said In an industry first the Grand Challenge tender homogenizes demand for electric buses – making this a step closer to standardization of modern public mobility The value of the tender is over Rs 5000 crores The buses are expected to operate around 471 billion kilometres over 12 years saving 188 billion litres of fossil fuel This will result in 331 million tonnes of CO2e from tailpipe emissions a major step towards mitigating climate change Buses will benefit from the central government subsidy offered under the remodelled FAME II scheme administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries With the very low discovered prices under the Grand Challenge a savings of approximately Rs 361 crore of national subsidy can be realized which in turn may be utilized for additional buses The contract term is 12 years with assured kilometres of 10 lakh per bus and a credible payment security system Special emphasis was paid to the requirement for domestic content specifications for which are the highest to date At least 25000 people will be employed through this tender of which 10 per cent will be women This does not include new employment created through new manufacturing facilities In June 2021 the FAME II scheme was remodelled and its delivery mechanism changed to better suit the needs of state transport undertakings especially in their financial ability to afford electric buses The main objective of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II FAME India Phase II scheme is to encourage faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles by way of offering upfront incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and also by establishing necessary charging infrastructure for EVs PTI KKS RR MR MR
