EV Plans
Tata has been one of the first to get into the budget EV race in India and leapt ahead of the competition in terms of first-mover advantage. To keep its place Tata had announced that it would have 10 new EVs on the market by 2025. As of today (12 May 2023), we already know seven of them! Here are all the details.
EVs Already in the market
Nexon Prime EV/Max EV
Right at the top of this list is the Tata Nexon EV in two guises- the EV Prime with an ARAI range of 312km and the more powerful Nexon EV Max with an ARAI range of 453km. The model has been around since early 2020 and has contributed significantly to Tata’s milestone of 50000 EVs sold. Of course, the Nexon EV will get a major upgrade later this year when the Nexon facelift is out and it should be on similar lines in terms of design, features and space.
Tata’s compact sedan in electric guise actually began life as the Xpress-T and then last year Tata added it to the PV segment by introducing the Tigor EV. It’s got nearly everything that the standard Tigor offers but with an electric heart and an ARAI-certified range of 306km. In our quest to discover how it ticks, we lived with it for a week and discovered quite a bit about it.
Emulating the success of its older siblings, the Tiago EV quickly breached the 10000-unit mark within just four months of being launched. It started off as the only EV in the sub-10 lakh segment but now has rivals in the form of the Citroen eC3 and the recently launched MG Comet EV. All these vehicles paint a picture of what we can expect down the line in terms of the A-segment and entry-level B-segment.
Tata’s next round of EVs?
One of the major highlights of the Tata stall at the 2023 Auto Expo was the Harrier EV SUV. It had all the hallmarks of the Harrier EV in terms of exterior design but with significant EV touches like a new grille, wheels and tail lamps. Much of the interior is expected to come from the Curvv concept as well as a facelift that is due later this year. It is also expected to spawn a three-row model called the Safari EV.
Tata Curvv EV
Tata has set its sights on the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos and will bring the fight both on the ICE and EV front with the Curvv. Showcased as an EV in early 2022, it will have a coupe design, a 400-500km range and capacitive buttons all around the cabin. This vehicle is expected to arrive in the market before its ICE sibling in early 2024.
Tata Punch EV
As we were putting this list together, pictures of the Punch EV surfaced on the internet confirming its existence or at least the fact that is in development. These early spy images indicate that much of the Punch has been retained and the only major change will be a selector dial in place of the gear lever found in the ICE-powered model.
Tapping into its 30-year-plus history of SUVs, Tata, at the 2020 Auto Expo showcased the Sierra concept. Three years later, at the ’23 Expo, it showcased the upgraded concept car with a newer design. This vehicle has now been confirmed for production and yes Tata has managed to retain the iconic glass roof albeit in a slightly modified form. It’s expected to be priced in the range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
Seen but not heard from in a long time
The last car on our list is the Altroz EV which was showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo but has not been heard from since then. At that time, Tata had hinted that the Altroz EV would borrow its underpinnings from the Nexon EV (Prime) but with all the features of the then-recently launched Altroz hatchback. Will it be launched only time will tell.
