Tata Motors Aims To Launch 10 Electric Vehicles In Coming Years

Indian automotive manufacturing giant Tata Motors appears to have high aspirations for the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry. With its Nexon EV, the firm already has a significant market share in the sector and it has already begun planning to expand its portfolio by launching at least 10 more EVs in India.

Tata Motors, which aims to shift from fossil fuel vehicles to EVs, has announced plans for next-generation EV versions of its sub-4m compact SUV (Nexon), as well as Tata Tiago. Additionally, when it comes to EVs and the EV ecosystem, the company wants to be an end-to-end solution provider.

According to a report by MoneyControl, Shailesh Chandra, president of Tata Motors' Passenger Vehicles Business, discusses how far the company has progressed in the EV area and what the future holds.

He said that the Indian EV market is exploding and a number of beneficial elements are shaping it, including strong word-of-mouth from existing consumers, policy push, increased gasoline and diesel pricing, as well as an expected reduction in battery cost. Furthermore, he added that the customer base is transitioning from early adopters to early majority, owing to the intrinsic benefits of higher drivability, performance and operational cost advantage.

Chandra said: “Tata Motors has established itself as a leader in the EV market in India and aspires to continue to win proactively going forward. Thus, to drive this narrative, Tata Motors has committed 10 new electric vehicles by investing proactively in drivetrains, products, platforms etc., while simultaneously leveraging the charging infrastructure.”

He explained that to support this expansion, the EV industry will need to make a large investment to meet the goals. According to him, the passenger vehicle industry would be unable to fund the necessary investment on its own and as a result, “we believe that creating an all-electric subsidiary will help to drive the required focus and efforts on all aspects of electrification”.

According to a recent report, when it comes to Petrol/Diesel cars, the Tata Safari and Harrier are two popular options. Now, these popular selections are set to have an electric version and EV owners will have a strong lineup to choose from. Along with Next-Gen Tata Nexon and Tiago, Tata Altroz EV and Tata Punch EV models are all reportedly planned to be released as EVs.

Last year's Auto Expo featured the Tata Altroz EV, which is expected to be powered by the same electric motor as the Nexon EV. It's estimated to have a range of 250-300 kilometres on a single charge. In addition, the Altroz will be able to charge to 80 per cent in just 60 minutes of rapid charging.

The report also added that Tata had reached an agreement with TPG Rise Climate, an investment business, to hire the new EV support company. The business will invest a massive Rs. 7,500 crore in the new EV company for an 11-15 per cent ownership—the new EV support company is known as EVCo.

According to the report, Chandra said: “We have a phased plan to move from generation one to subsequent generations of EVs and in that journey, some of our modern architectures will be adapted to make them more electric ready, specifically to accommodate more battery packs.”

However, Tata Motors also emphasised the need for battery recycling and the implementation of a circular economy to ensure that recovered materials are reused throughout the value chain. Chandra told MoneyControl earlier: “We at Tata Motors are consciously striving towards this with certain partners.”

Additionally, he said: “We are also looking into reuse/repurposing the batteries after their automotive use is over, but still it may be good for certain applications.”

However, it was reported recently that Tata group is in talks with three states to invest up to $300 million in a semiconductor assembly and test unit. These states include Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where the company is already constructing a high-tech electronics manufacturing facility.