For the fourth consecutive month, Tata Motors experienced a decline in 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 the challenges with respect to charging infrastructure, the company is planning to double down on driving up EV penetration in India.
“FAME incentives not being there does impact EV sales 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 the 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 adds that a slowdown in the adoption curve doesn’t mean it’s reversing. “Some degree of market slowdown is evident in July across the board, not just in 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. We’re doubling down on driving up penetration,” he said.
The company is planning a series of strategic actions for increasing EV penetration from 12% to 20% of their 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. There’s a logical case for it to build. 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 adds.
It’s our job to create the market as market leaders, he adds. “We don’t subscribe to any slowdown as fasr 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 play out. We need to be right up there with our customers,” he said.
On the charging infrastructure front, the company recently launched the scheme in Gujarat for bundling in rooftop solar. “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 adds.
Tata Motors on Thursday reported that its net profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2025 soared 73.8% on year, while its operating profit rose by 6%. The 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. Revenue from operations rose 5.7% on year to Rs 108,048 crore, despite a drop in the revenue from the passenger vehicle segment.
The topline reflects 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.