New Delhi: Tata Motors plans to showcase its first hybrid city bus during the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in Delhi in October this year.

In an expansive programme of development and launch of alternate-fuel technologies, the company is working on a full diesel-electric battery hybrid version of the city bus, a mild (start-stop) hybrid for the Indica and the ACE LCV, and also electric versions of the Indica and the Nano. The start-stop Indica should be launched in India later this year too.

Vice chairman Ravi Kant said the company wants to have a significant footprint in alternate technologies and has already firmed up plans to launch the electric Indica hybrid in India by the end of this year, while the electric version of the Nano is going to Europe by 2013.

But the Air Car project, where Tata was working to develop a car that runs on compressed air, is nowhere near fruition. Kant said this project is still at a concept stage for both stationary and mobile versions.

To a question on introduction of the electric Nano in India, he said the electric versions of Tata cars are first going to countries that have the requisite infrastructure. "Sweden and Norway have charging stations at each parking lot. In the Coventry and Birmingham areas in Britain also the government supports operation of such vehicles, so obviously we are going to places where infrastructure exists for supporting electric technology."

Kant said his company is speaking to the government back home to get some initial encouragement on hybrid buses - indicating a possible government bus buying programme, similar to initiatives taken by governments elsewhere to promote fuel-efficient and environment-friendly technologies.