Electric vehicles are the future, and the Indian market is gradually embracing this fact. It will take some time for this transition to be fully completed, as there are 2 massive problems which could slow down this process.
Problem number 1, there are quite a few people who refuse to acknowledge electric vehicles as real cars, these kind of people must have also held on to hold Nokia phones even when they had begun to lose relevance. Secondly, India as a country currently lacks the infrastructure to support charging stations, that being said, I believe dealing with problem number 2 is easier than problem number 1.
In the present Indian market, the Indian market does not have many options when it comes to pure electric vehicles, the options include the Tata Nexon EV, Morris Garages ZS, Hyundai Kona and the upcoming Mahindra e-Kuv100.
Amongst these, there is little doubt that the Nexon EV is the leader of the segment. In March 2020, the Nexon sold 198 units, the MG ZS achieved 116 sales and the Kona is last with a meagre 14 units. The Nexon has managed to sell in such numbers because it comes across as a better deal, with it’s competitive pricing and 3 optional variants, the Nexon just had to be successful.
While Tata Motors’ sales had slumped by the biggest margin globally, this latest info could very well show a path to the company for it’s undying future. The Nexon EV has a ‘Ziptron Powertrain’ and this power train makes use of a permanent magnet AC motor, which is mated to a 30.2kWh lithium ion IP67 battery pack.
While being caring towards the environment, the Nexon EV is quite powerful with a total horsepower of 127ps, making it quite peppy. The most important question when it comes to EV’s is the range, and the Nexon EV on a full charge will be capable of running down 312 kilometers. A number like this would not be entirely accurate, as driving style, terrain and brakes can influence the range of an EV. Furthermore, having an IP67 battery pack allows the Nexon EV to wade into water upto 300mm, so for the adventurers, this could be a viable option.
Priced at 13.99 lakhs ex-showroom, the Nexon EV is the cheapest plug in EV, and this is one of the reasons why it has garnered the sales that it has attained. The base XM at the above pricing, the XZ+ at 14.99 lakhs, and the top end XZ+ LUX is available at a price of 15.99 lakhs (all prices are ex-showroom prices).
This year has been difficult for the Indian Auto Industry thanks to the Covid 19 crisis, had this situation not struck us, I am sure the Nexon EV would have probably delivered even better sales numbers.
However, Mahindra too intends on launching their much cheaper e Kuv100, and even though this car belongs to a different segment, it will surely have some effect on the sales of the Nexon EV. Rumours even suggest that Hyundai intends on launching an EV which would be a direct competitor to the Nexon EV.
With more EVs launching in India, the transition from internal combustion engines to electric ones could be believed to have begun, and in the long run, this is great news for us.
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