Tata Tiago.EV To Get 400 Kms Range: Details
Ever since EVs became a thing in India, Tata Motors has been leading the game. Lately, however, their market share has been dipping due to stiff competition. The homegrown carmaker still stands special in offering the widest range of all-electric products. From the Tiago.ev to the Curvv.ev, there are a lot of Tata EVs to choose from, spread across segments and price ranges. However, it is just those higher up on the ladder that offer a real-world range of 400 km. Tata now plans to re-engineer its sub 10 lakh EVs to offer 400 km real-world range. This number is important as most long drives of Indian users span less than 400 kilometres.
Sub-10 Lakh EV To Get Range Boost: What Does It Mean?
The manufacturer, in a recent media statement, revealed their intentions of doing the range boost on sub-10 lakh EVs. This is primarily to enable the users of these vehicles to embark on longer journeys and intercity commutes. Strictly speaking, it is just the Tiago.EV that slots in the sub-10 lakh bracket with its price. Thus this whole narrative seems to be about just the same.
The Tiago.EV that’s currently on sale, starts at 7.99 lakh, ex-showroom. The range-topping XZ+ Tech LUX LR variant costs 11.14 lakh, ex-showroom. There are two battery packs available: 19.2 kWh and 24 kWh. The LR variants get the 24 kWh unit. It has a claimed range of 293 km per charge ( MIDC part 1+ part 2). This means that the real-world range (C70) could be somewhere around 190-200 km. You cannot do long drives with the current Tiago.EV even when it fits perfectly for office commutes.
The charging infrastructure in our country is still in its developing phase. Some of the major highways still face a shortage of convenient DC fast chargers and this is deterring many EV owners from attempting intercity drives. Tata Motors is now trying to address this issue… The idea of boosting the electric Tiago’s range comes as part of this. How is the carmaker doing to achieve this? is a question that has no clear answers yet.
Assumptions:
Rumours suggest that the Tiago.EV could make a shift to a reworked Acti.EV platform and get a 48-50 kWh battery pack. This could enable it to pull off a 400 km real-world range. The Acti.EV platform, as Tata claims, can support various body styles and is the same that underpins the Curvv.EV and Harrier.EV.
The Curvv.EV with its 55 kWh battery pack, delivers a C70 range of over 400 km. Considering the compact size of the Tiago.EV, even a slightly smaller (say 48 kWh) battery should be able to deliver comparable range figures. The falling battery prices should further help Tata Motors in getting the math right with the prices. It is to be noted that these remain assumptions for now, and Tata has given no official word on the game plan yet.
Push For Price Parity Between ICE and EV
The manufacturer once considered the possibility of a new product introduction in the sub 10 lakh space, but later ruled out the same. Now it turns out that it is working on optimising battery and other costs through design changes. MD Shailesh Chandra says that the EV costs could be brought further down through careful design intervention of multiple sub-systems. Sooner or later, Tata Motors could bring about price parity between ICE and EV models.
More Chargers
Further, to improve the charging ecosystem, Tata Motors has signed MOUs with Statiq, Zeon, Charge Zone and Tata Power to set up new chargers at locations that still lack these. The new chargers could offer charging speeds of up to 120 kW.