Tata Motors unveils Nexon EV, offering 300km-plus range, 8 yrs warranty

To push electric vehicle adoption by individual customers, Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled the electric version of its popular Nexon, offering more than 300 km range and eight years of warranty on the battery. The Nexon EV will be "commercially launched within weeks" and will be priced in the range of Rs 15-17 lakh, said the company adding that it will primarily be targeted at individual car buyers.

The car will initially be launched in 22 cities but booking is open from Friday. Booking for the car can be done online or at select Croma stores, where the company is planning to have Nexon EV kiosks. The Nexon EV, the first car powered by its Ziptron technology, can accelerate to 100 kmph in just 9.9 seconds and comes with 35 connected features including tow-away and intrusion alerts.

The Nexon is the second EV from the Tata Motors stable after the Tigor EV, primarily targeted at fleet-owners and the government-run ESSL which had initially placed orders for 10,000 cars but has since been scaled down to a trickle after the delivery of the first 1,000 units last year. Shailesh Chandra, president for electric mobility business at Tata Motors said the company is now getting good demand from fleet owners and expects to sell over 10,000 units in the March quarter.

"Volume from fleet owners were under-250 units in the first quarter, which rose to 350 units in the second quarter and further to 800-900 in third quarter and I am confident we will cross the 1,000 units-mark in the March quarter," Chandra said. Explaining the rationale for this demand, he said on an average a fleet owner can save close to Rs 7,000 a month per vehicle if he chooses Tigor EV. So going electric makes immense commercial sense to him.

Chandra also said the Tigor at the present range of under 150 km cannot be targeted at individual buyers as the main concern about EVs is low-range, even though on an average a person drives not more than 30 km in our country per day. Offering higher range will make it unaffordable. But with the Nexon EV, the company have scaled a major hurdle when it comes to the range as this car will offer more than 300 km range, thus making it attractive for individuals. Even if priced at Rs 17 lakh, it will be just about 20 percent more than the AMT version of the existing Nexon but the cost of daily ownership is just Rs 1 per km, he added.

On the industry first longest warranty of 8 years or 1,60,000 km (whichever is earlier) on the battery and motor, he said this is to take care of the concerns about the durability about the battery. On the other hand, Tigor is offering only three-year warranty. Unveiling the car, Guenter Butschek, chief executive officer and managing director said, the Nexon EV is the first car with the Ziptron technology and is a high performance connected vehicle breaking all major barriers for EV adoption.

He also sounded bullish about the overall auto segment saying of late the company has been witnessing better consumer sentiment leading to higher footfalls at the dealerships. The Nexon EV is powered by a 30.2 kWh lithium-ion battery producing 45 Nm of torque enabling it to accelerate to 100 kmph in 9.9 seconds.

The battery can be charged from home or office using a 15 Amp plug point and comes with a dust and water-proof battery pack that is liquid-cooled to suit our weather conditions which meets IP67 standards. When plugged on a fast charger, the battery can replenish 80 percent within an hour.

On the public charging stations, Chandra said Tata Motors is working with group company Tata Power scouting for the right locations from the government identified 30 cities and the 10 highways and that over the next two-three years, concerns about charging stations should be addressed to a large extent.