[TusharK]

Tata Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Uber India to deliver 25,000 Xpres-T electric cars. These will be inducted into Uber’s premium category service.



Uber India is in the process of electrifying its fleet across multiple cities. These include the Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The cars will be delivered in a phased manner, starting this month.

The Xpres-T was launched in 2021. It is based on the Tigor EV and is offered exclusively to fleet operators. The car comes with two battery options: a 25.5 kWh battery offering 277 km of range and a 26 kWh battery pack with 315 km of range (ARAI certified). The batteries can be charged from 0-80% in 59 minutes using a fast charger or in 110 minutes using a 15A plug.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Venkatesh]

Tata Motors and Uber sign an MOU for XPRES-T EVs.

Press Release

[arjab]

Good. About time UBER and other cab aggregators took to EV's.
Having had first hand experience of the smooth EV cab ride experirnce, multiple number of times in Delhi, courtesy BlueSmart, I personally, am all for this initiative.
If UBER wants to become competitive in the EV cab segment they should benchmark themselves against BlueSmart. Well maintained cabs, different types of cabs, (for example they have Tigor's, Verito's, Kona's and MG ZS EV's) in their fleet and depending on the distance you wish to cover or take the cab on rent, the appropriate vehicle model will be sent to you. Add to this courteous and polite chauffeurs and the cab riding experience is indeed pleasant.

One thing UBER has to keep in mind though: and it is the consistency and reliability of the Tigor's. In Kolkata, i once took the city's EV Cab ride service, "SNAP-E Cabs". A shiny, new Tigor with barely 1700 kms on the clock came to pick me up. When we started the journey, everything was fine and smooth. 3 kilometres into the journey the Tigor suddenly lost all power and went into limp home mode, much to the consternation of the driver.
Working in the automotive industry has its advantages, hence i helped the cab driver park by the side of the road, let the Tigor cool off for a while, did a hard reset and cranked her again. Everything came back to life and off we went - for another kilometre before all the lights in the instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree ad the Tigor EV went off into a stupor from which it just could not be roused.
The cabbie gave up. Of course he did not charge me anything as he could not drop me to my destination. We managed somehow to push the Tigor to a petrol pump by the side of the road for overnight parking by giving the petrol pump attedant some tips, who in turn called his owner and took permission for this odd request.
By that time it was well past midnight. Luckily and ironically, one of Kolkata's (in)famous yellow Ambassador taxi's was cruising by and I hitched a ride in it to go home.
Hope Tata double checks the reliability of Tigor's before committing to UBER large volumes.

[Maverick_4662]

Is this a change in strategy by Uber to actually own the vehicles? Aren't all present cabs owned by individuals with the app merely working as an aggregator?

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Maverick_4662

Is this a change in strategy by Uber to actually own the vehicles? Aren't all present cabs owned by individuals with the app merely working as an aggregator?

And that would be a good thing.

I am Sick and Tired of the Unprofessional Attitude of Uber/Ola Cab Drivers -

1. UBER/OLA Cabs drivers CANCELLING the rides in case the route isn't profitable

2. In case the Drivers agree to take the route, they sometimes ask you to Cancel the Ride and insist on Paying them instead (in order to escape from sharing commission with Uber/Ola)

3. DIRTY and Ill maintained cabs.

4. Drivers always seem to be in a Hurry


The above reasons made me switch to BLuSmart e-cabs that operate in Gurgaon-Delhi region. Believe me it is a much more pleasant experience.

[ritesh_44]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The Xpres-T was launched in 2021. It is based on the Tigor EV and is offered exclusively to fleet operators. The car comes with two battery options: a 25.5 kWh battery offering 277 km of range and a 26 kWh battery pack with 315 km of range (ARAI certified). The batteries can be charged from 0-80% in 59 minutes using a fast charger or in 110 minutes using a 15A plug.

Link to Team-BHP News

There is something off with these numbers, with 15A plug, it won't fully charge in 110 minutes. 15Amp generally gives around 3.5kW. Its probably 15kW charger which can charge 26kWh battery in ~2 hrs. It is a typo and all news agencies reporting the same incorrect numbers?

Also how is extra 0.5kWh battery giving extra 38km range in the second variant?

[busydrive]

Originally Posted by Maverick_4662

Is this a change in strategy by Uber to actually own the vehicles? Aren't all present cabs owned by individuals with the app merely working as an aggregator?

Originally Posted by payeng

And that would be a good thing.

I am Sick and Tired of the Unprofessional Attitude of Uber/Ola Cab Drivers -

Same thought flashed in my mind when I read this. If UBER is going to own the cabs the service might be better. I totally agree on the fact that the service level has gone down to a big low - cancellation, cleanliness are two major points. Even I have stoped using UBER/OLA and have started resorting to local operators for planned trips.

[shortbread]

With their current EV production capacity, even assigning half the volumes for Uber means it will take Tata more than a year to fulfil this order, at the very least. Apart from this there are tens of thousands of electric Tigors ordered previously by other fleet operators like BluSmart, Everest fleet etc...
The company was confident of delivering 50k EVs this calendar year, looking at January numbers Tata's EV production expansion leaves a lot to be desired.

[ruzbehxyz]

The announcement comes amid increasing interest in the ride-hailing industry to convert its fleet into EVs. This is Tata Motors’ second such large deal with a ride-hailing company.



Source: https://wap.business-standard.com/ar...2000923_1.html

[StrykerEV05]

I don't understand why EV rides are more expensive than CNG/diesel ones. The cost differential of EV is max 3 lakhs over the similar model.
Considering the EVs are dirt cheap to run, approx 1rs per kilometre compared to 4rs in CNG and 6rs on diesel, the breakeven (for EV vs ICE differential) will be at 100000km for CNG, 60000km for Diesel. Post that EV can drivers will literally be minting money.
The above distances might seem a lot but Cab drivers will be past that in less than a year.
Battery pack will hold quite good upto 2 lakh kilometres (maybe more), considering the 1.6 lakh warranty. Pretty sure companies wouldn't give that long of a warranty if they expect the battery pack to be replaced at 1.6 lakh kilometres.
Also cabs with smaller battery packs shouldn't cost more than 3 lakhs to replace, especially around 3 years in the future.
I really believe EV cabs ought to be priced reasonably. Should be priced below, if not possible - atleast on par with ICE counterparts

[shaheenazk]

Originally Posted by ritesh_44

Also how is extra 0.5kWh battery giving extra 38km range in the second variant?

I absolutely agree. Another thing. If 0.5kWh gives 38 kms of range then 1 kWh should give approx. 76 kms. Right? Then going by this calculation, the 26 kWh battery pack of this car should give a total range of (76*26) 1976 kms (ARAI). Is this really possible? Absolutely not. I think there is seriously wrong with the mileage figures given by TATA !

[TorqueIndia]

Originally Posted by ritesh_44

Also how is extra 0.5kWh battery giving extra 38km range in the second variant?

Originally Posted by shaheenazk

the 26 kWh battery pack of this car should give a total range of (76*26) 1976 kms (ARAI). Is this really possible? Absolutely not. I think there is seriously wrong with the mileage figures given by TATA !

Haha thing is that these 2 variants uses different technologies, one is 72V electra powertrain another is 300V ziptron.

[ritesh_44]

Originally Posted by shaheenazk

I absolutely agree. Another thing. If 0.5kWh gives 38 kms of range then 1 kWh should give approx. 76 kms. Right? Then going by this calculation, the 26 kWh battery pack of this car should give a total range of (76*26) 1976 kms (ARAI). Is this really possible? Absolutely not. I think there is seriously wrong with the mileage figures given by TATA !

These things should not be linearly extrapolated. For actual total range, there are several variables that come into play.
Its probably due to different volatage architechures as @TorqueIndia has mentioned

[GTO]

Was lucky enough to get one when I called for an Uber. Super smooth experience, good build, top refinement. I enjoyed the ride.

Driver said there are a couple of charging points he frequents, and has no trouble getting a spot. Said it takes 1 - 1.5 hours to top up and costs between 70 - 120 rupees for each charge. IIRC, he mentioned 150 km range before he tops up the battery.

He receives a fixed salary. Cabs are owned by some 3rd-party which has an arrangement with Uber.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by GTO

He receives a fixed salary. Cabs are owned by some 3rd-party which has an arrangement with Uber.

The third party seems to be Everest Fleet private limited.