Tata and Mahindra to lead India's push towards EVs

But demand is expected to be low because of the cost of batteries that are mostly imported

India, the world’s fifth-largest automobile market, plans to sell only electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 in a bid to slash its oil bill by some $60 billion and emissions by 37 per cent.

To kickstart this ultra-ambitious project, the Narendra Modi government decided in May this year to purchase 10,000 EVs through the Energy Efficiency Services (EES), a state-run agency. The tender floated by this firm is touted as the world’s single-largest EVs procurement initiative.

On October 4, EES said Mumbai-based Mahindra & Mahindra would join Tata Motors to sell as many as 500 electric cars to the Indian government. Tata Motors,