Tata Motors to invest Rs 16,000-18,000 crore in EV biz by FY30

Homegrown automaker Tata Motors, which, through its EV arm – Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) – currently dominates India’s passenger electric vehicle market with a significant 73 percent market share by end-FY24, aims to maintain its leadership position by mainstreaming EVs in the country, and expanding its current five-model EV portfolio.

TPEM, which clocked overall volumes of 73,833 units in FY24, registering a 48 percent year-on-year growth, saw EVs contribute to nearly 13 percent of Tata Motors’ cumulative passenger vehicle volumes of 582,915 units in the entire fiscal year. The automaker now targets EVs to form more than 30 percent of its overall volumes by FY30, and as a result, it envisages investing anywhere between Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000 crore in its EV business by the turn of the decade.

In an investor presentation released on June 11, Tata Motors mentioned that as necessary, it will undertake this mega investment in its EV business between FY25 and FY30, to achieve its future growth targets, wherein it also eyes an EBITDA breakeven in TPEM by FY26. Moreover, the company will continue its exercise of mainstreaming EVs in India through multiple initiatives, including the introduction of new models, expanding EV retail channels, and collaborating to expand the charging infrastructure across the country. 

Ten new EVs by FY30

While it currently offers the X-Pres-T EV for fleet operators; Tigor and Tiago EVs for mass-market buyers, and the Punch and Nexon EV for aspirational customers, the company aims to introduce 10 new EV models by FY30. The first ones on the anvil are the Tata Curvv mid-size EV, and the Harrier EV, slated to be introduced later in the ongoing financial year. Following the two models will be the Sierra EV and Avinya EV – both slated for introduction in FY26 – between April 2025 to March 2026.

TPEM will leverage its two ground-up EV platforms - Acti.ev and the JLR-derived EMA platform – to address the key barriers of extended range, and advanced technology in modern-day EVs. The company says it will leverage over 3 billion kilometres of driving data from its existing EV parc on the roads to produce efficient, updatable, and high-performance EVs in the coming years.

It will offer high-energy-density batteries with fast-charging capabilities to alleviate range anxiety, while the upcoming models will boast next-generation advanced displays with EV-specific UIs, and offer connected-car features as well. Lastly, the company will also focus on offering advanced driving modes for customer delight, as well as offer various features such as vehicle-to-load, and vehicle-to-vehicle EV charging. 

To expand EV retail, charging infra

TPEM is bullish about the passenger EV segment in India and expects the declining global battery prices, localisation, and the PLI schemes to augur well for the category over the next six years. Moreover, Tata Motors plans to expand its EV-exclusive retail channel - .ev – introduced in December last year, in over 50 key cities over the next two years. 

The company has considered high EV TIV cities, high-penetration clusters, and high-growth-potential markets such as Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, and several cities in Kerala, as some of the key locations with high EV potential. Furthermore, it has also identified outlet locations through micro-market analysis. 

TPEM will also strengthen the charging infrastructure by intensifying collaboration to drive the installation and establishment of public as well as community EV chargers across India. While the company has established a mutually beneficial collaboration with charging ecosystem partners such as ChargeZone, Statiq, Glida, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, and Shell, among others, it aims to grow the charging network from over 10,000 charging points by the end of 2024, to 100,000 points by FY30. 

In terms of community charging points, TPEM aims to achieve a 23x growth from over 4300 charging points by FY24, to over 100,000 points by end-FY30. The company will also leverage synergies between EVs and rooftop solar (RTS) to further drive EV adoption, as well as accelerate its net-zero vision. The company estimates the contribution of renewable energy used for charging its electric vehicles to grow from the currently pegged 33 percent to nearly 70 percent by FY30. 

The company also aims to drive synergies within the Tata Group companies – JLR (for EMA platform), Agratas (for battery security and cost benefits), Tata AutoComp Systems (for localisation of EV components), and Tata Power (for setting up home and public charging infrastructure) – to enable advanced, highly-localised and cost-efficient systems that empower the growth of electrification in the country. 

Also read: Electric cars and SUVs help charge Tata Motors' strong performance in FY2024