- Private EV operations began with the launch of the Nexon EV in January 2020
- Curvv and Sierra EV will join the pack next year
The race to 1 lakh EVs
Tata Motors has jumped ahead in the EV race in India by cracking the 1 lakh mark within just three years of starting its electric journey. While it had been selling EVs in the past to the fleet market, it truly began this race with the launch of the Nexon EV in 2020. Since then, it did not look back even once in its race to break the six-digit sales mark. The initial 10,000 units took almost 3.5 years while the next 40,000 took just under 1.5 years. The jump from 50,000 to 1 lakh was achieved in just 9 months; a feat that has surprised Tata itself.
Nexon EV: Opening batsman
The opening batsman for the Tata EV pack was the Nexon EV in early 2020. It took everything the Nexon had but with electric motivation and tyre-smoking torque delivery. We drove it, tested it, and, of course, did a range test where it delivered much better than we expected. The Nexon EV family expanded in 2022 with the Nexon EV Max offering a bigger range and more power. The ICE Nexon will get its most major update later this year and we expect an updated Nexon EV with the same design and feature list to be launched simultaneously.
Tiago and Tigor EV: The midfielders
While the Nexon EV range has been the big hitter, Tata expanded their EV line-up with the launch of the Tiago EV and the Tigor EV. The former has been a major success as it was the first EV to come under the Rs. 10 lakh price range and crossed the 10,000 unit sales mark in just under four months. While the Tigor EV has not been as successful as the rest, it does have its place as the only compact sedan EV in the market at present.
Punch, Curvv, and Sierra: Next in line
Tata is looking at less than a year to break the next 1 lakh in EV sales and will achieve this by significantly expanding its EV portfolio. The first car will be the Punch EV, and this will be joined next year by the Curvv and Sierra EV. The latter two will be Tata’s push in the more premium section of the fledging EV market. In fact, both these cars are expected to create a new segment for themselves.
