NEW DELHI: A week after awarding a Rs 1,120-crore order for electric cars to Tata MotorsBSE 1.68 %, state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd has offered to give 40% of the order for 10,000 e-vehicles to Mahindra & Mahindra provided it matches the former’s bid.
“Following due procedure, we have written to Mahindra today, asking them to match Tata’s bid,” Saurabh Kumar, managing director at Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), said on Tuesday. “If they agree, 40% of the order will go to Mahindra,” he told ET.
EESL had in August floated a global tender for 10,000 e-vehicles to replace five lakh petrol and diesel cars used by the government over three to four years. Tata Motors quoted the lowest in the bidding process on September 28, at Rs 10.16 lakh per car without goods and service tax (GST). The vehicle will be provided to EESL for Rs 11.2 lakh including GST and a comprehensive five-year warranty.
Now, Mahindra, which was the second lowest bidder offering e-cars for around Rs 13 lakh each, stands a chance to win 40% of the order, given it matches Tatas’ offer, Kumar said. EESL has given the company a week to respond to the government, on the basis of which the letters of award will be given to the companies.
“If they don’t respond in a week, we will send them a reminder,” Kumar said. “By the middle of this month we should be able to close the deal.” If Mahindra does manage to lower its bid, then Tata Motors, which has the entire order at present, will be left with 60% of it.
In the first phase of the procurement, EESL will buy 500 e-cars. The remaining order will be procured in a second phase. “We expect the e-vehicles to start coming in by middle of November,” Kumar said.
EESL will replace the fleet in the ministry of power, coal, new and renewable energy to begin with, ET had reported on September 9. EESL was planning to bring 10,000 vehicles on the road in Delhi-NCR in seven to eight months, Kumar had told ET.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes
