Tata Motors will participate in the government’s upcoming tender for around 6,000 electric buses but will avoid aggressive bidding, preferring a cautious, financially disciplined approach, Managing Director and CEO, Girish Wagh told Fe in an interaction.
The company is looking to regain ground in the segment but does not intend to chase volumes at the cost of long-term viability. “We will bid, but we will not get into a price war,” Wagh said, underlining that success in the e-bus business depends on much more than winning tenders.
Wagh said the economics of the business hinge on factors such as safety standards, depot management, receivables, penalties, uptime commitments and long-term operational discipline.
“This is not a one-time sale. These are 12-year contracts, and you have to be very clear about what you are signing up for,” he said, adding that Tata Motors’ experience in operating electric buses puts it in a strong position for future tenders.
Recent Market Performance
The 6,000 buses are part of the remaining tranche under the Centre’s PM E-DRIVE and PM-eBus Sewa programmes. Tata Motors did not win any orders in the most recent tender for 10,900 buses concluded in December, nor in earlier rounds covering 8,413 buses.
As a result, the company’s electric bus deliveries fell sharply to 223 units in 2025 from 1,462 units a year earlier, allowing rivals such as PMI Electro Mobility, Olectra Greentech and JBM Auto to overtake it in annual sales.
Wagh said the company’s approach had been shaped by its experience of deploying more than 3,600 electric buses across cities. While some players had bid aggressively in recent tenders, he expects the intensity to ease as the market matures. “We are confident that our capabilities will translate into wins, but it has to be at the right time and the right price,” he said.
Tata Motors has recently secured smaller orders from state governments, including a 200-bus contract in Chennai, and plans to participate in upcoming tenders such as Ahmedabad.
Wagh also pointed to policy improvements, including payment security mechanisms and the option to bid through consortiums, which have made participation more viable for manufacturers.
Scalable Asset-Light Models
At the same time, he said that the sector needs to move towards asset-light models. Electrifying the country’s bus fleet could require investments of nearly Rs 8.5 lakh crore, far exceeding the balance sheets of most operators. “Asset-light structures are essential if this transition has to scale sustainably,” he said.
Addressing concerns around capacity utilisation, Wagh said Tata Motors is well placed as its electric buses share platforms with internal combustion engine vehicles and use modular battery systems that can be deployed across trucks and buses. “That gives us flexibility and helps manage supplier capacity,” he said.
On electric trucks, Wagh said Tata Motors has positioned its new models for short-haul and closed-loop applications such as steel, cement, chemicals and e-commerce. He also said the company has sought a temporary suspension of the scrapping certificate requirement under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, calling it a hurdle to faster adoption of electric trucks.