Tata Motors launched its Tiago Electric Vehicle (EV) on Wednesday at an introductory price of .₹8.49 lakh, making it the most affordable electric vehicle in the country.
Speaking to businessline, Shailesh Chandra, MD of Passenger Vehicles and Electric Mobility, Tata Motors, said the costs have been brought down because the company is using existing components from its petrol and CNG variants. “The capital cost comes down because there is already a car existing and you are only fractionally investing in that to electrify. This is the fourth EV product and we have built a good volume base there. This has helped us further optimise the cost,” Chandra said.
Going forward, the price of EVs will completely depend on how the battery prices pan out. “It will be the biggest factor. There will be advantages that we will be getting as the volumes grow and I would generally think other component costs over a period of time will come down while the ICE component cost has increased as emission norms are going to be stringent. For every emission norm you have to add a new technology that is going to add to cost in the ICE segment,” Chandra added.
The bookings for the new vehicle will start on October 10 and the deliveries will begin in January 2023.
Two battery packs
The vehicle is being offered in combinations of battery packs including a 25kWh battery that delivers a range of 315 km and a 19.2kWh battery pack that delivers a range of 250 km.
The EV will have four different charging solutions including a 15A plug point, a standard 3.3kW AC charger, a 7.2kW AC home fast charger and DC fast charging that can add 110 km of range with just 30 mins of charging. With the launch, the company aims to increase its penetration and have a 25 to 30 per cent market share in the EV space.
“To make our EVs more accessible we are entering 80 new cities and expanding our network to more than 165 cities. Tiago EV is a disruptive product with a lot of premium features that will attract customers. This should be the best-selling EV in the country,” added Chandra.