Force Motors plans electric Traveller-based vehicles for early next year

what happened

According to Moody's, Force Motors intends to bring electric versions of its Traveller van to market in the January to March quarter of next year. Managing Director Prasan Firodia told PTI that an electric ambulance is likely to be among the first models. The Traveller EVs have already been developed and are going through homologation with ARAI as well as final trials, though the version shown at the Auto Expo in 2024 has not yet gone on sale.

The company will first release several Traveller EV variants, followed by an electric Urbania, which is still in development and a few months from certification. Firodia expects the shift in the under-seven-metre passenger segment to be gradual, given buyer costs, range limits and a shortage of charging infrastructure. School transport, he said, could electrify sooner because its routes are more predictable.

At the same time, the company is putting ₹3,000 crore into capacity, engineering, electrification, hybrid drivetrains and digital systems, and plans to lift production capacity to 85,000 vehicles.

why it matters

For investors, the timing points to a slow rather than rapid switch in passenger-carrier vehicles, so the contribution of EVs to volumes in the coming years looks limited. Urbania, which is significant for revenue, could have a bigger effect on the sales mix once it is electrified.

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