Tata Motors on Tuesday announced a reduction in the prices of its flagship EV models -- Nexon.ev and Tiago.ev, due to a reduction in the cost lithium-ion battery costs. The price of its recently launched Punch.ev has, however, remained unchanged as they already factor in the reduction in battery price in the foreseeable future, says the company. Punch.ev is currently priced at ₹10.99 lakh (ex-showroom).
According to the country's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, the step has been taken to make EVs more accessible to customers. While Nexon.ev gets a price reduction of up to ₹1.2 lakh, the price of Tiago.ev has been slashed up to ₹70,000. The base model of Tiago.ev will now start at ₹7.99 lakh. Long Range Nexon.ev (465km) will now start from ₹16.99 lakh.
"Battery costs constitute a substantial part of the overall cost of an EV. With battery cell prices having softened in the recent past and considering their potential reduction in the foreseeable future, we have chosen to proactively pass on the resulting benefits directly to customers," says Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEM).
"While EVs have grown rapidly over the last few years, our mission is to accelerate the mainstream adoption of EVs by making them more accessible nationwide. Our portfolio already offers a wide choice of body styles, range and price points for our smart, feature-rich EVs. We believe that at these accessible prices, the best-selling Nexon.ev and Tiago.ev become an even more compelling proposition to attract a larger pool of customers," he adds. In January this year, the company slashed the price of Nexon.ev by ₹85,000.
The development comes as the company plans to introduce two more EV models -- Harrier EV and Curvv EV -- by the end of this year. EVs constitute 13-15% of Tata Motors' domestic passenger vehicle sales. In January, the company's EV sales surged by 69% to 6,979 units. The company's ICE (internal combustion engine) sales grew by 12% YoY to 54,033 units.
In the domestic electric vehicle market, Tata Motors commands a 75% market share. The manufacturer of Nexon.ev is eyeing 50% of its wholesales to be electric by 2030.
In December last year, the country's largest EV manufacturer launched two EV-exclusive showrooms in Gurugram. The company plans to open new EV showrooms across Tier-I and Tier-II cities in the next 12-18 months.
In the October to December quarter of FY24, the company’s consolidated net profit witnessed a growth of 137.5% YoY at ₹7,025.11 crore against ₹2,958 crore in the year-ago period, driven by the passenger vehicle segment and Jaguar Land Rover. The company's consolidated revenue rose 25% to ₹1.11 lakh crore against ₹88,489 crore in the same period last year.
