NEW DELHI, Feb 20 Reuters Uber Technologies said on Monday it will introduce electric vehicles EVs in India for ridesharing, its first move to adopt clean cars amid an Indian government push for greater electrification of public transport and shared mobility.

With plans to introduce 25,000 EVs over three years, Uber is stepping up competition with local rival BluSmart, an electric mobility startup backed by BP39;s venture fund, which has taken the lead in India39;s electric taxi space.

Uber39;s fleet partners will buy the EVs from Tata Motors, India39;s biggest electric carmaker, Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia, said during a phone interview on Monday.

When you39;re looking at great transitions, you also don39;t want to rush into those without necessarily fully appreciating the economics and tradeoffs, Singh told Reuters.

Tata Motors also sells EVs to BluSmart.

For electric ridehailing to take off, Singh said multiple factors need to come together. Automakers need to build affordable vehicles with a long range, the financing ecosystem needs to mature and charging infrastructure has to be widespread.

We believe we are beginning to see early signs of that coming together, Singh said, adding that this is the largest deal for EVs by a ridesharing company.

Even with 25,000 EVs, electric cars will still be a fraction of Uber39;s current overall active fleet of 300,000 vehicles in India, according to Singh.

Uber has set a 2040 target for 100 of…