Tata Motors is paving the way to strengthen its grip in the electric vehicle (EV) space in India and is planning to bring in affordable EVs as early as next year or the first half of 2024, but how affordable would they be?
The cars Tata Motors is planning to roll out may not strictly be in the affordable category in India and could be priced just below the Nexon EV, that is, maybe around the Rs 10-lakh mark (Rs 10,000,00).
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| Tata Motors cars based on the Avinya concept (above) would be its third-generation EVs. |
But it has remained mum on an EV for volume customers in India — that is, a car priced in the range of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000).
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has also lined up ambitious plans on EVs in the recent past and it seems the nearest contender, at least in the near-to medium term, to Tata Motors would be M&M.
M&M is set to roll out an electric version of the XUV300 (that is, XUV400) this September itself and it will slug it out with the likes of Tata Nexon in India.
According to Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, an EV is being planned that would be placed at a price point below the Nexon.
There is buzz that the e-car planned could be either the Tata Altroz or the Punch, which already exist in the internal combustion engine (ICE) form.
In the first quarter of this year, Tata Motors had a share of a whopping 88 per cent in India’s electric vehicle market.
It now wants to boost its e-car play by launching first and second generation EVs in the country during the next two years.
First generation electric vehicles would be based on the company’s existing platform but EVs of the second generation would be from an upgraded platform.
Recently, Tata Motors unveiled the Tata Curvv SUV and Avinya concept vehicles from where it would be rolling out its Generation-3 EVs from 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Tata Motors’ current models, such as the Nexon and Tigor, are its Generation-1 EVs and are based on the IC-engine powertrains.
The second-generation vehicles will be from a platform that is optimised for electric vehicles. However, this platform could be utilised for both EV and ICE models.
The car giant plans to roll out two new electric vehicles every year, or 10 new EVs, in five years, Chandra had revealed.
He added that Tata Motors’ future cars would be at different price points from what they are today, saying the products would also be feature-rich.
Tata Motors would also expand powertrains with an option to manufacture CNG variants.
Its litany of offerings in the next five years would remain unmatched. Tata Motors would have an EV at almost every price point, giving a wide choice to its customers.
Since Tata Motors would be offering a larger portfolio in just three-four years, this strategy should work well for the company to maintain its leadership position for long.
And, if it can roll out a really affordable electric vehicle (for around Rs 5 lakh or Rs 500,000) in the next few years, Tata Motors would be cementing its leadership position in the EV space further.
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