Tata Motors bets on flexible powertrain production lines even as EV bus momentum grows

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tata Motors Ltd is prioritizing flexible production over a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) bus line, as it looks to stay agile in a tender-driven market where demand can quickly shift between diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG)and electric buses.The stance underscores a cost-conscious approach to an uncertain order pipeline, with the company betting that multi-powertrain lines will help it respond faster to government tenders, rather than lock capital into specialized EV capacity amid stiff competition.On the sidelines of an event at the company's Lucknow plant, Tata Motors managing director and chief executive Girish Wagh told reporters that a dedicated EV production line is not needed even as the company increases its participation in tenders for electric buses, where it lost leadership in FY26.“All our manufacturing facilities are flexible. You can either produce a diesel or a CNG or an electric.

Because that is the need of the hour,” Wagh said. “You will have one month when suddenly you have to supply a lot of CNG buses; you will have a month, where you have to produce more electric buses… If you start investing in dedicated lines, in my view, it is not financially prudent.”The commentary from the commercial vehicle market leader comes as new age rivals like PMI Electro Mobility and Eka Mobility rush to build dedicated electric bus plants to target a series of government tenders across central and state governments.The trajectory of Tata Motors Commercial Vehicle's EV play in the bus sector and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle has diverged, with the former seeing electric bus sales considerably slow down in FY26, while the passenger vehicle business consolidated its leadership in the