It will be an all-out 360-degree assault when it comes to EVs: Tata Motors

For the fourth consecutive month, Tata Motors experienced a decline in the sales of its electric vehicles (EVs), with July figures continuing the downward trend. According to the company’s sales figures, it sold 5,027 electric vehicles in July, marking a 21% drop compared to the 6,329 units sold in July 2023.

This comes on the heels of Tata Motors recording its lowest EV sales in 18 months in June, with July’s numbers showing only a modest 7.9% increase over the previous month. Tata Motors said that with its Curvv.ev launch and efforts towards addressing charging infrastructure challenges, the company is planning to double down on driving up EV penetration in India.

“FAME incentives not being there does impact EV sales [of models] that form a sizable portion of our portfolio. It’s logical that it will have an impact. Going forward, the excitement begins now with the launch of Curvv, and battery price reduction is also in place. We expect the momentum to build back in the EV business. It will be an all-out 360-degree assault as far as we’re concerned when it comes to EVs,” Tata Motors' Group CFO PB Balaji said.

He added that a slowdown in the adoption curve doesn’t mean that adoption is reversing. “Some degree of market slowdown is evident in July across the board, not just in the EV segment. We expect it to recover from here on. Enough and more noise is there to get the buzz back in the market. Our focus remains on building the market and improving access to charging infrastructure.

“We’re quite confident that this temporary aberration of FAME will be over and we’ll be on our growth path. Nothing changes as far as our plans are concerned,” he said.

The company is planning a series of strategic actions for increasing EV penetration from 12% to 20% of the portfolio and expects the FAME 3 policy to have benefits for four wheelers. “It’s a public good as the incentives will go into the fleet segment. Overall, fleet is roughly about 20% of our volumes. That’s the one that’s been impacted. We expect it to come back once the incentives are secured,” he added.
He also dismissed concerns about a slowdown in the EV market. “We don’t subscribe to any slowdown. As far as EVs are concerned, we’re the market. So, if the market is slowing down, that means we’re slowing down and we’ve to create a plan to drive penetration. Product innovation, range extension are currently being played out. We need to be right up there with our customers,” he said.

On the charging infrastructure front, the company recently launched a scheme in Gujarat for bundling rooftop solar with its EVs. “It means you’re getting a free ride with respect to EVs and on top of it, we have the Prime Minister’s solar scheme being leveraged. Then, we’ve tied up with all the charge-point operators and are also making sure the charging infrastructure of 20,000 chargers is being accelerated. There are tons of activities underway, including ranges being extended, battery prices coming off, and there will be more choice with the Curvv launch,” he added.

Tata Motors on Thursday reported that its net profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2025 soared 73.8% on the year, while its operating profit rose by 6%. Profit was driven by robust Jaguar Land Rover sales, an improved mix in overall volumes, and moderation in raw material price inflation.

For the quarter ended June, the automaker clocked a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,566 crore against Rs 3,203 crore last year. Revenue from operations rose 5.7% on the year to Rs 108,048 crore, despite a drop in revenue from the passenger vehicle segment.

The topline reflected higher overall volume and average selling prices. The impact of a marginal decline in volume from the passenger vehicle segment was offset by an improvement in JLR and commercial vehicle volumes.