Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd managing director Pawan Goenka said on Thursday that the price bid by rival Tata Motors Ltd for the government’s electric vehicle contract “is hard to comprehend.”
Mahindra will lose about Rs3 crore on the 150 electric sedans it will supply to state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), Goenka told reporters in a conference call on Thursday. Mahindra matched the lowest bid of Rs10.16 lakh per vehicle made by Tata Motors Ltd as it wanted to be part of the government’s electric mobility mission, said Goenka. Its own bid was Rs2.3 lakh higher per vehicle.
EESL offered Mahindra half of 500 EVs in the first phase of the contract after it matched the lowest bid on Wednesday. But owing to the aggressive pricing Mahindra agreed to supply only 150.
Mahindra was the only one to bid for the entire order of 10,000 vehicles while Tata Motors bid for 5,000 vehicles, Goenka informed media.The dates for bidding of the second phase will be announced after completion of the first phase of deliveries on 30 November.
The Rs1,120 crore-tender has been floated by the government to procure EVs to replace petrol and diesel cars currently used by the central government and its agencies over 3-4 years. The tender is part of the government’s agenda to make India an all-electric vehicle market by 2030.
Mahindra also plans to participate in the government bid for 9-metre electric buses, said Goenka.
By Baishakhi Dutta
