Tata Motors bags order for 10 CNG-electric hybrid buses

Tata Motors is eliciting a favourable response for its CNG-electric hybrid buses and has received orders from overseas markets, a top company official said.

The Ratan Tata-led company has secured an order for 10 buses from Spain, he said.

"We have received an order for 10 hybrid buses from overseas markets (Spain). We expect demand for these buses to increase, not only overseas but also domestically," Tata Motors President (Commercial Vehicles) Ravi Pisharody said here.

The buses have also received a favourable response from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), he said.

The home-grown auto major had presented four CNG-electric hybrid buses to the DTC during the last Commonwealth Games.

The company has also handed over two CNG-electric hybrid low-floor Starbuses to BEST on a trial basis in Mumbai.

Tata Hybrid Starbus offers substantial improvement in fuel economy compared to a conventional bus. The usage of this technology leads to lower emissions and is besides, environment-friendly.

The auto major is also preparing diesel-electric hybrid buses for trials by the State Transport Undertakings (STCs) by the end of this year.

"We are developing a diesel-electric hybrid and we expect a good demand for hybrids from STCs," Pisharody said.

However, the company did not reveal the pricing of both products and capacity, but said the high import content made the product very expensive.

"We have not decided the price of the product. We are awaiting some policy support from the Government on electric vehicles and hybrids," he said.