China’s BYD may compete with Indian auto majors for government’s electric car order
NEW DELHI: Chinese e-vehicles giant BYD, which raised eyebrows with a very low bid for e-buses, may take on leading carmakers Tata MotorsBSE -0.36 %, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nissan and Hyundai in the government’s second tender for 10,000 electric cars, sources familiar with the development said.
State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) floated its second global tender for procuring 10,000 sedans for government use earlier this month. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai, Nissan and Solar power developer ACME sent their representatives for the prebid meeting, while BYD said it has not yet taken a decision on the tender.
Participation in pre-bid meetings signal the interest of various companies in any given tender although it is not a conclusive indication.
“BYD has also been looking at the EV tender, but they were missing from the pre-bid meet,” a source said. A spokesperson of BYD, however, refused to give an indication of the company’s interest in the electric cars segment in India. “Nothing has been decided as of now,” said the person, without elaborating further.
Warren Buffet-backed BYD has recently turned heads by quoting aggressively in tenders for procurement of electric buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme, through which the government is encouraging adoption of e-vehicles in various cities.
Solar power developer Acme may bid with other partners, a source familiar with the development said. “ACME will come in a consortium. They haven’t disclosed any further details yet,” the person said.
ET had reported on March 10 that EESL is expecting a wider participation in this tender after completion of its first electric cars tender it floated in August last year for the same number of cars.
Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra bagged the first contract to supply electric cars in two phases.
“Carmakers like Hyundai and Kia Motors have been showcasing their electric vehicles at different occasions recently. I would assume they would take part in our second tender. We hope to get responses from more players this time,” Saurabh Kumar, MD of EESL, had told ET.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes
