Tata Motors creates Electric Mobility Business vertical
Shailesh Chandra appointed President — Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy
Tata Motors has announced the appointment of Shailesh Chandra to lead its newly created Electric Mobility Business vertical. Shailesh, a member of the Tata Motors Executive Committee, was responsible for leading the project teams to deliver the Energy Efficiency Services Limited(EESL) project.
The creation of the new vertical is intended to capture the opportunities arising out of new mobility trends and to bring organizational focus and alignment.
Tata Motors had qualified as the lowest bidder (L1) and won the tender of 10,000 electric cars floated by EESL in September 2017. In the first phase, Tata Motors is required to deliver 250 Tigor EVs, for which it has received a LoA. For an additional 100 cars, the LoA is expected to be issued shortly by EESL. The electric drive systems for this order have been developed and supplied by Electra EV — a company established to develop and supply electric drive systems for the automotive sector.
“Tata Motors is optimistic about the future of Electric vehicles and would play a leading role in the electric mobility evolution in the country. We will also leverage on the capabilities of other Tata Group companies to develop the full ecosystem and fast track the adoption of e-mobility,” said Guenter Butschek, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Tata Motors.
Tata Motors’ Sanand facility in Gujarat is manufacturing the Tigor EVs for the EESL order. Specific to the EESL order, the Tigor EV will be delivered in three trim variants — Base, Premium and High and will be available in ‘Pearlescent White’ colour with blue decals. Over the basic requirements of the tender, the Tigor EV, across the variants, would have FATC (Fully Automatic AC) and is equipped with a single speed, automatic transmission.
The Tigor EV builds on the existing Passenger Vehicles portfolio of Tata Motors Limited (BSE: TATAMOTORS), a USD 45 billion organisation and part of the USD 100 billion Tata group.
“With Tigor EV, we have begun our journey in boosting e-mobility and offering a full range of electric vehicles to the Indian customers. This tender has effectively paved way for connecting our aspirations in the e-mobility space with the vision of the Government,” said Butschek, speaking during the roll out of the Tigor EVs.
On 14th December 2017, Tata Motors handed over the first batch of Tigor Electric Vehicles to EESL.
On 31 May, 2018, Tata Motors signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State. Tata Motors will partner with Tata Power Ltd to set up EV Charging Stations in the State. The MoU follows the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 in accelerating the adoption of EVs in Maharashtra.
“As part of our tender with EESL, we have already completed the production of 250 cars and initiated the execution of phase 2 orders. Today’s delivery of 5 Tigor EVs by EESL to the Maharashtra Government has effectively paved way for connecting our aspirations in the e-mobility space with the Government’s vision,” said Butschek.
“We are happy to present Maharashtra with various electric vehicle charging stations that cover the wide expanse of the State. With these installations, Tata Power continues to pursue sustainable practices by using technology to provide Maharashtra customers access to energy-efficient options with ease,” said Praveer Sinha, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Power.
“Tata Motors is committed to the Government’s vision for electric vehicles by 2030 and will work in a collaborative manner to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India,” the company said in a statement.
“It is an exciting responsibility and I keenly look forward to drive Tata Motors’ vision of proactively developing the e-Mobility ecosystem in the country and leveraging this new opportunity for the company,” said Shailesh Chandra, reacting to the announcement.
Shailesh Chandra (45) has worked in various verticals of Tata Motors including Production, Vendor Development, Defence business and at the Vice Chairman’s Office. As a part of the Tata Motors Vice Chairman’s office, he drove key strategic initiatives like Analytics and Scenario Planning throughout the company. He subsequently moved to Tata Sons as General Manager, Group Strategy and then to Group Chairman’s office. In 2016, Shailesh moved back to Tata Motors, as the Vice President for Corporate Strategy and business transformation. Shailesh began his career with Tata Motors as a graduate engineer in 1995.
In his role, he leads the Electric Mobility Business and is also responsible for leading Business strategy development, pursuing collaborations and driving strategic (ImpACT) projects for cost-efficiencies and enhanced market performance.
