Tata Motors’ electric portfolio now consists of Tiago EV, Tigor RV, Punch EV, Nexon and the newly launched Curvv EV.
Tata Motors, on Wednesday, launched its first mid-sized electric SUV, Curvv.ev, at a starting price of Rs 17.49 lakh (with 45 kWh battery). With it being the second car based on the advanced Pure EV architecture – acti.ev, Tata Motors have made an entry into the competitive mid-size SUV segment with its competitors including MG ZS EV, Hyundai Creta and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, among others.
At the launch event, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle and Tata Passenger Electric, told news agency PTI that the company is hopeful regarding the prospects of the electric vehicle segment, and called the dip in EV car segment sales as a “short-term” issue. He further shared the company’s target to achieve one-lakh electric vehicle sales this financial year.
With the addition of Curvv EV, Tata Motors’ passenger electric portfolio now hasTiago EV, Tigor RV, Punch EV, Nexon, and EV car sales account for 12 percent of the total sales of Tata Motors.
Coming back to Curvv EV, it comes with a certified long-driving range of 585 km on a single charge for 55kWh and 502 km for 45kWh. It has two petrol engines and one diesel engine option, and boasts of ATLAS, An Adaptive Tech forward Lifestyle Architecture, specially made for its vehicles with combustion engines.
Chandra mentioned how EV remains a part of the larger PV trend, and hence, a larger industry trend also impacted the overall sales. However, according to him, primarily EV has seen a downward trend because of the fleet segment. For those caught unaware, the overall passenger electric vehicle sales for Tata Motors and other OEMs has been on a decline for the last four months.
According to automobile dealers’ body FADA, passenger electric vehicle sales in July this year dipped 12 percent to 4,775 units as against 5,471 passenger electric cars retailed in July 2023.
Chandra asserted how the challenges which existed two years back when the EVs were growing at a much faster pace were higher. Now there are 15,000-16,000 EV charges on the highways, unlike earlier. He further mentioned how with the launch of Curvv EV, Tata Motors has taken care of residual barriers like price parity from an acquisition price perspective, charging time, range and much more.
“So I believe that it’s a short-term issue and we should not bother too much about (the declining sales nos). The long-term trend has to be EV and therefore one should be very confident and focused on that,” he said. Last but not the least, Tata Motors is eyeing a bigger EV market in the festive season along with new launches.
