Tata Motors to manufacture 1,500 electric buses for Delhi
The Delhi Transport Corporation has contracted Tata Motors to supply 1,500 electric buses for use in India’s capital, New Delhi. The agreement covers the supply of 1,500 Tata Starbus EV 12-metre electric buses over a period of twelve years.
Under the deal, which was announced in the summer and has now been finalised, Tata Motors’ subsidiary TML CV Mobility Solutions will supply 1,500 air-conditioned examples of the Starbus EV and operate and maintain them for a period of twelve years. The Tata Starbus EV is a domestically developed electric bus. The low-floor model offers space for 35 passengers and has air suspension at the front and rear. The electric motor has an output of 245 kW. The battery pack is said to come to “around 250 kWh” but is also “scalable according to range requirements”.
Commenting on the agreement, Shilpa Shinde, Managing Director, Delhi Transport Corporation, said: “This is a significant step towards the introduction of electric mobility in the capital. The introduction of zero-emission and zero-noise buses will go a long way in improving air quality in the city. The new buses will also be of great benefit to commuters with their state-of-the-art facilities and comfortable seats.”
According to Asim Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Chairman, TML CV Mobility Solutions Limited, this is a “historic event” as they have now signed a definitive agreement for the country’s largest electric bus order. “Our relationship with Delhi Transport Corporation, which has been in place for over a decade, is based on mutual trust and cooperation and this order will further strengthen it. We are confident that the electric buses will provide sustainable, safe and comfortable public transport to Delhi commuters.”
Tata Motors said it has delivered more than 730 electric buses to several cities in India to date. Recent new orders include orders from West Bengal Transport Corporation and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, which have placed a total order of over 2,000 electric buses with Tata Motors in August 2022. Both these orders, as well as the above-mentioned order for New Delhi, are part of Convergence Energy Services Limited’s (CESL) tender for several thousand electric buses in India’s largest cities.
