Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) has invited bids to provide electric vehicle (EV) fleet services for 300 EVs on an own, operate, and maintain basis.

The contractors must provide a comprehensive free annual maintenance contract for five years. Electric cars should carry a warranty of five years against any manufacturing defect. The car batteries, too, should have a free replacement warranty of up to five years or 100,000 kilometers (km), whichever is earlier.

The last date to submit the bids online is May 31, 2023. Bids will be opened on June 2, 2023.

Bidders should quote monthly rental prices for EV fleet services for hatchback, sedan, and SUV category electric cars.

Bidders will have to submit ₹5,000 (~$61.15) + GST as a bid processing fee. The successful bidder must submit ₹6 million (~$73,374) as a bid security deposit.

The performance security should be submitted for an aggregate amount equivalent to six months of monthly lease rental price in six parts.

The selected EV fleet service provider should provide the electric car for a monthly travel distance of 2,000 Km/vehicle for small hatchback and sedan models and 2,500 km/vehicle for SUV models. The cost of charging for this distance will be included in the monthly rental price quoted by the bidders.

Bidders should set up charging stations in the beneficiary locations or the vicinity of the beneficiary locations.

The EV fleet service provider will bear electricity charges to be paid to distribution companies (DISCOMs) for charging the electric cars. Anything beyond the limit of 2,000 km/vehicle per month for small and sedan category vehicles and 2,500 km/vehicle per month for SUV category vehicles will be reimbursed by OREDA in the form of variable charges.

Bidders must possess established high standards for quality and environmental health and safety in line with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, respectively, in the name of the original equipment manufacturer.

Bidders must be authorized OEMs of light motor vehicle (LMV) EVs of M1 and M2 category sales and service with three years of experience in the sale and service of LMV EVs in India. They must have sales and service dealerships in all districts of the state.

Alternatively, the bidder must be a fleet service provider with three years of experience providing fleet services in India, or the bidder must be an EV charging station operator with an experience of three years of in setting up charging stations for EVs in India.

Bidders should also have experience in ownership, operations, and maintenance of a fleet of at least ten internal combustion engine vehicles or EVs for at least one year in the last seven years.

They should have a minimum of ten drivers under their payroll or contractual obligations.

Additionally, they should have installed at least five charging stations at various locations by themselves or in a tie-up with charging station operators.

Bidders should have an average annual turnover of not less than ₹50 million (~$611,450) in the last three financial years. They should not be in loss in the previous financial year and should have a positive net worth in the last financial year.

In 2021, the Odisha Government announced the EV Policy 2021, which aims to accelerate the adoption of EVs, especially in the category of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and light motor vehicles. The state aims to achieve 20% of all vehicle registrations to be EVs by 2025.

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