Tata Motors has received an order to deliver 25,000 units of its XPres-T EVs to fleet ride-sharing app Uber. Both companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with Tata Motors stating that it will begin the deliveries of the cars to Uber fleet partners in a phased manner, starting this month. The automaker has introduced a long-range, 26kWh version of the XPres-T, which, as per dealer sources, will be delivered to Uber.
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This is over and above the previous order that consisted of 10,000 XPres-T EVs, making this India’s largest EV fleet order. Uber will use the XPres-T for its cab services across seven cities in India — Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Electric Mobility, says, “Offering customers environmentally friendly EV ride experiences via Uber’s Premium Category service will accelerate the adoption of green and clean personal ride sharing.”
This also aligns with Uber’s commitment to 100% of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micro-mobility by 2040. So far, Tata Motors has rolled out more than 50,000 EVs from its plant in the passenger and fleet segments.
The XPres-T EV, which was launched in July 2021, is the fleet-only version of the Tigor EV. It now gets Tata’s Ziptron high-voltage architecture that uses a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor producing 75hp and 170Nm. The electric compact sedan comes with two battery options — 26kWh and 25.5kWh — with 315km and 277km of ARAI-claimed range, respectively. The range of the 26kWh battery pack-equipped XPres-T is identical to the passenger-only Tigor EV, which was recently updated in November 2022.
As for charging, Tata claims a 0-80% charge time of 59 minutes and 110 minutes for the 26kWh and 25.5kWh battery packs, respectively, using a DC charger. Meanwhile, the battery packs can also be charged using a 15A plug point. When it comes to pricing, the 26kWh XPres-T costs ₹14.98 lakh (ex-showroom) and is available with a ₹2.6 lakh subsidy under the FAME II scheme.