State-owned Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited, has issued a tender for the procurement of 100,000 electric three-wheelers (E3W) today. A request for proposals has been issued inviting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide quotations for E3W under different use-cases – including, garbage disposal, freight loaders, food and vaccine transport, and passenger autos.

CESL will lease the vehicles to entities that wish to avail of such leasing services. CESL will also make these E3Ws available through its digital platform for resale to any entity interested in outright purchase.

All E3Ws will comply with FAME-II policy requirements. The scope of work for the OEM(s) includes designing, engineering, manufacturing, testing, inspection, supply, transportation, complete system warranty & transit insurance, delivery to the end-consumer, and providing after-sales support.

The tender has been issued to cater to the demand that CESL has aggregated from various partners and states across India. The tender included demand from cities to change their garbage collection fleet from fossil fuel to electric; or add new fleet that is clean and cheaper to operate. A significant portion of this tender also comprises demand for vehicles that will be used to provide employment and the delivery of vaccines. Through this procurement, CESL aims to achieve cost reduction, standardize the demand for E3Ws and maintain high quality and service levels through the implementation of quality assurance and quality control procedures of CESL. CESL has been supported by the USAID SPARC program in the development of this program. 

Sharing her views on this unique tender, Ms. Mahua Acharya, MD & CEO, CESL said, “CESL aims to catalyze large scale transformation of the transportation system in India by focusing on affordability and accessibility. We are working on providing electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, electric buses and their associated charging infrastructure. We will make an extra effort, if possible, to enable the deployment of three-wheelers that have a direct impact on livelihood generation and public health. Through this large scale tender, we will set high quality and service levels and aim to standardize the sector.”