electric three-wheelers by floating a ₹30mn tender. “Before floating the tender, we launched a public exercise for demand aggregation,” the company’s Managing Director and CEO Mahua Acharya revealed. “So we got commitments from financiers, fleet aggregators and others such as states that have funds under Swatch Bharat Mission, for about 85,000 (three-wheelers). And so we kept a margin of an additional 15,000 and floated a tender to buy 1 lakh electric three-wheelers.”
She further noted that given the economic benefits linked to EVs, electric three-wheelers are more attractive for those using them to make a living. “Of the 6 million three-wheelers on roads… auto rickshaw is the biggest market. Then there is the freight and delivery business which has gone through the roof after COVID struck. They want to buy the cheapest ride and the cheapest cost of delivery is met by electric,” Acharya pointed out.
CESL is already playing a major role in India’s efforts to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Earlier this month, following the direction of the government of Kerala, the company launched a scheme for the sale of electric two-wheelers to government employees of the state at negotiated rates. “After accounting for central government subsidy, the price of E2W comes to ₹55,000 to ₹130, 000,” the CESL chief executive said. “If states give subsidies, the prices will come down further. At this, price is very competitive (compared to fossil-fuel-based two-wheelers),” she added.
