Saar: The energy services company rolled out its second tender to procure 10,000 EVs in April this year.

Last year, EESL, which stands for Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, became the first company in the world to release a tender for procuring 10,000 EVs (electric vehicles) and invited all manufacturers to quote itself happy. In a nutshell, it was Tata Motors who bagged the major chunk of the tender, while Mahindra completed the leftover bit by first losing out to its homegrown counterpart but later matching the lowest bid.

With that tender done and dusted, EESL released its second tender in April this year to get another 10,000 EVs on-board in pursuit to expand its EV fleet. While major terms and conditions of the new tender remain identical to the last one, a change in charging station specifications by the Department of Heavy Industry could open a path for foreign players to jump in.

According to a report by ETAuto, carmakers like Nissan, Hyundai and Kia Motors may bag 20 per cent of the government’s tender to procure 10,000 EVs. Do the math and that comes out to be 2,000 foreign EVs. This move is based on a couple of aspects which are still in the development phase. Firstly, the procurement agency is planning to dedicate a set share for upgraded EVs for government officials. If that gets a nod, the second aspect revolves around the charging station specifications, which has to be released by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI).

Also Read: EESL To Invest Rs 2,400 Crore For 20,000 EVs By March 2019

Nissan Leaf

If all goes well, EESL may let go of the upper length limit for the 20 per cent of the order. That means other bigger, stronger EVs could very well become part of the EESL’s EV fleet. Saurabh Kumar, MD, EESL shed some more light on this development. He reportedly said:

“These 20% cars need not necessarily be luxury in nature. Now, charging specifications allow you to have these (luxury) kinds of cars; earlier, they did not.”

How come Nissan, Hyundai and Kia Motors have come into the naming game? Well, all three have been reportedly showcasing their electric sedans to EESL. Kumar added:

“So we would expect them to come in. Anyway it’s an international competitive bidding, so even Indian players can get it (luxury cars) from outside.”

When asked about the per unit price of the upgraded EVs, Kumar reportedly said that it would be upward of Rs 15 lakh. He added:

“This is just a natural progression from a business perspective and what we are doing to expand the market.”

Currently, no homegrown automakers have large EVs to offer. That’s why foreign carmakers stand a chance to bag this 20 per cent of the tender unless an Indian automaker brings one from overseas and offer it during the competitive bidding process. However, chances of that happening are next to none because of the high import taxes applicable to completely built units and EV tech.