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NEW DELHI: In one of the most ambitious plans made around electric mobility and affordability, homegrown auto giant Tata Motors has said that it plans to price its green cars at “not more than 15-20% premium” to conventional petrol/diesel vehicles, while offering a battery range at least in excess of 200km on a single charge.
The statement comes just as Tata Motors drives on a path of resurgence in the Indian passenger vehicles market, making significant gains in share in just about a year. Riding high on healthy demand for products such as the Tiago mini, Nexon compact SUV and the Altroz hatch, the company is confident that its overall monthly sales will be “at least in excess of 22,000 units”, keeping it firmly placed in the third position behind Hyundai and market leader Maruti.
“Our reclaiming the third position in the Indian passenger vehicles market is not by accident. We’ve recorded the highest sales volume in the past eight years during the last few months. This has seen us gain nearly 300 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) in market share, which moved up from around 4.7% last year to about 7.7% now,” Shailesh Chandra, president of Tata Motors passenger vehicles business unit, told TOI.
He exuded confidence that the momentum will be maintained and the company will reach 10% share soon with new products. As the company works on getting in newer products (including the SUV-styled mini codenamed ‘HBX’), it is the electric space where it has a focus on.
Chandra said Tata Motors and group companies such as Tata Power (for charging infra), Tata AutoComp (battery packs for EVs) and Tata Chemicals (lithium-ion battery cells) are working on providing a wholistic eco-system for adopters of the green cars. “Electrics remain central to our strategy. In our journey during the last three years, we have clearly established ourselves as frontrunners in the EV space.”
Tata Motors currently has electric versions of the Tigor sedan (single-charge range of 312km, priced upwards of Rs 9.6 lakh in Delhi) and the Nexon SUV (single charge range of 312km, priced Rs 14 lakh-plus in Delhi), even as it is believed that it will launch green versions of the Altroz and possibly the larger Harrier SUV.
Chandra says that volumes have started to come in, especially as there are practical benefits. “If someone drives around 10,000-12,000 kms per year, they will save over Rs 50,000 on operating costs. In about four years, a person can save around Rs 2.5 lakh than what we would have spent on a petrol/diesel car.”
A decent performance of its cars and assurances such as an 8-year (or 1.6 lakh km) warranty on battery and motor means that Tata has managed a headstart over rivals. It is now believed that Tata is working on complete range of only-electric vehicles that may hit the market in the coming years.
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