Business News, Strategy, Finance & Corporate Insights

Tata Motors, India’s largest electric car maker, said on Tuesday that nearly 30% of its electric vehicle (EV) owners already use roof-mounted solar systems.

To further increase market penetration, Tata’s electric vehicle subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and Tata Power Renewable Energy have joined forces to install rooftop solar systems for electric vehicle customers.

In June, Fortune India first reported that Tata Motors intends to leverage the synergies between electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels to boost EV adoption in cities and provincial towns.

Both companies will promote electric vehicles and rooftop solar systems among their customers to increase awareness of their benefits and drive zero-emission mobility in India.

Electric vehicles, which emit no tailpipes, and solar power systems that generate electricity without emissions are key enablers in India’s path to net zero emissions. The Indian government has supported electric vehicles through a number of initiatives over the past few years, with the recently launched PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana aiming to provide subsidised rooftop solar installations to 1 crore households.

Combining rooftop solar systems with electric vehicles decouples electric vehicle emissions from grid emissions, offering a much faster path to achieving net zero emissions in the transport sector.

“India’s path to net zero emissions can only be achieved by switching to electric vehicles and renewable energy. We see significant synergies between electric vehicle customers and rooftop solar. Over 90% of our electric vehicle customers are using home charging and almost 30% of our electric vehicle owners are already using rooftop solar. By joining forces with Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd., we aim to democratize zero-emission mobility and disconnect electric vehicles from the grid, while reducing the cost of ownership for customers,” says Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.

While both electric vehicles and rooftop solar make independent business cases for customers, combining the two solutions provides customers with a number of additional benefits, including: lowering the total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle; reducing the electricity bill for customers with an electric vehicle; accelerating the return on investment for owners of solar roofs who purchase an electric vehicle; and providing 100 percent emission-free power for electric vehicles, the automaker said.

“The combination of rooftop solar and EV is a promising, cost-effective, sustainable solution for India and hence, a natural complement. Both solutions appeal to the same set of eco-friendly and value-conscious customers. We look forward to working with Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. to increase the adoption of rooftop and EV systems and provide discerning customers with an opportunity to contribute to reducing emissions while saving money,” says Praveer Sinha, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Power.

Tata Power plans to aggressively promote the adoption of solar rooftops through its extensive network of over 700 channel partners and retailers to cover every corner of the country. Tata Power has installed 5,600 public chargers across India.