NEW DELHI: After buses and passenger cars, automotive giant Tata Motors may soon be rolling out an electric variant of its small utility vehicle.

In a conversation with IANS, Girish Wagh, president of the commercial vehicle business unit of Tata Motors, said the company has participated in the “FAME Phase I” program for the electrification of buses.

The Center had introduced the “Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India” (FAME India) program to promote the manufacture of electric and hybrid vehicle technology.

“We have supplied over 200 buses and cumulatively they have now driven over seven and a half million kilometers which has given us a very good experience.

“We are also tracking other segments to see what customers are looking for, where it makes economic sense and therefore engage with them, especially in the e-commerce industry to understand their needs,” Wagh said.

According to Wagh, the economic attractiveness of electric vehicles has increased for the ICE motor due to falling battery prices and the rising cost of ICE motor vehicles due to increasing regulation.

“We are exploring a number of segments and in fact, after buses, small commercial vehicles seem to have a better chance of being electrified. Both from the point of view of customer requirements and also from an economic point of view,” Wagh said.

In addition, he mentioned that the CV segment is receiving the added push from an economic rebound that started towards the end of T2FY21 and the push from the Center for the creation of infrastructure.

“I think the push of infrastructure by the government is having a very positive impact on the utility vehicle industry. Second, the e-commerce sector is doing quite well, the rural economy is doing well, and I am gradually seeing that consumption urban growth has also increased as a result of all of this.

“More than the interest rate, the actual availability of credit has improved. This has also helped the industry.”

On rising costs of ownership as well as fuel prices, he noted that so far “real demand” has withstood this stress and growth is expected to be sustained.

“We have headwinds. The pandemic is still not over, commodity prices have increased, so we have witnessed these headwinds.

“But from now on, the favorable winds in terms of the overall economic recovery seem to be bringing us back to the top in the commercial vehicle industry,” Wagh said.

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