Mahindra Electric to depend on fleet operators to increase sales
Kolkata, June 13: Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd will depend on fleet operators and app based cab aggregators to increase sales of passenger electric cars, a company official said here on Wednesday.
"The company is looking to double its sales of electric vehicles, including passenger cars. It is economically viable to sell EVs to fleet operators than individuals," said Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Babu.
Last year, it sold around 4,000 electric vehicles of which 1,300 are passenger cars.
According to Mahesh Babu, the electric passenger vehicle market is stable while commercial electric vehicle segment is experiencing strong growth.
Owing to limitations of charging stations or points along with low run-time on single charge, there are not enough takers for electric vehicles, he said, adding that the car maker's flagship passenger car model e2o Plus can cover at least 100 km on a single charge.
The company tied up with self-drive mobility platform Zoomcar India in a bid to increase sales of its electric vehicles.
He said that the tie-up with Zoomcar is "crucial" to drive future growth of electric vehicles.
Mahindra Electric and Zoomcar on Wednesday announced the extension of their unique service, by offering electric vehicles (EVs) as shared mobility solution in Kolkata.
The self-drive mobility platform is targeting a fleet of 2,000 electric cars by the year-end from 300 at present, said its CEO Greg Moran.
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'Warm and engaging atmosphere reigned', Shashi Tharoor on Putin banquet
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday attended a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Saturday described the atmosphere there as "warm" and "engaging", and said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
Tharoo’s remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet for the visiting Russian president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!" Tharoor said in a social media post.
Murmu, while welcoming President Putin and his delegation at the banquet, had said that his visit marked an important milestone -- the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, which was established in October 2000 during his first visit to the country as president.
Murmu also appreciated Putin's support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
The party’s media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” Khera said on Friday.
Asked about Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, "Ask Mr Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable."
“We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor had said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
