When you think of electric cars in India, which brand comes to your mind? I can safely bet it’s TATA. And fairly so. Not just it’s one of the only few brands in India operating in the segment right now, but the highest-selling EV maker in the market too. That makes it a simple choice for anyone looking for an electric car in the budget segment in India. So no wonder, the homegrown carmaker bagged a large order of 300 electric cars from Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL). So much for the ban on sale of Nexon EV ordered by the Delhi government due to its range claims being sketchy.
CESL which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has given an order to Tata Motors to supply 300 units of electric cars with a warranty of three years. The total cost of this contract is worth Rs 44 crore and is a part of the Scaling up Demand Side Energy Efficiency Sector Project which is being financed by the Asian Development Bank line of credit to CESL.
The letter of award forwarded by CESL to Tata Motors states that these 300 four-wheeler electric cars will have a length of less than 4 metres and a single-charge range equal to or more than 250km. And there’s one vehicle in Tata’s EV portfolio that will just perfectly fit the bill, the Nexon EV.
With a length of 3994mm, Nexon EV packs in enough power in its battery to make a 312km run on a single charge. The 30.2kWh lithium-ion liquid-cooled battery pack powers the three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor. In return, the power train gives the EV a respectable output of 127 bhp with 245 Nm of peak torque.
The electric Nexon is bundled with a 3.3kW charger which can juice up its battery from 20 to 100 percent in eight hours. It also comes with a 25kW fast charger that can reduce the charging time to just 60 minutes. The Nexon EV also enjoys Tata’s continuously growing network of over 456 EV Charging Points installed in almost 92 cities. This web of charging stations cover several prominent intercity routes across India and the Indian automaker is continuously working to expand its network.
The deal between CESL and Tata will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will consist of procurement of 300 vehicles with a three-year warranty at a base price of Rs 14.33 lakh per unit, exclusive of GST. The second phase will involve inland transportation including loading, unloading, transfer to a designated location, transit insurance, and other costs liable to delivery of vehicles. This phase will incur a cost of Rs 21,000 per unit.
Commenting on this development, Shailesh Chandra, President of Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, said, “Tata Motors is committed to supporting the Government’s vision of actively embracing e-mobility and we are delighted to partner with CESL once again. Purposeful collaboration amongst stakeholders is key to accelerate the mass adoption of environmentally-friendly solutions.”
