Tata Motors, India’s largest electric car seller, has announced price cuts for electric versions of their Nexon SUV and Tiago mini.
It is commonly believed that electric cars are too expensive to buy. However, recent price cuts from manufacturers such as Tata Motors and MG Motor mean that you can recover any additional amount paid for buying an electric car in just under a year. This is especially true as electric cars have the lowest running cost per kilometer compared to petrol and diesel cars, besides subsidized registration charges.
Tata Motors, India’s largest electric car seller, has announced price cuts for electric versions of their Nexon SUV and Tiago mini. The entry-level variant of Nexon EV, priced at Rs. 14.5 lakh (ex-showroom) has seen the steepest reduction of Rs. 1.2 lakh. The base model of Tiago, on the other hand, will see a price reduction of up to Rs. 70,000 and is now priced at Rs. 8 lakh. Tata has stated that they are passing on the benefits of “battery price reduction” directly to customers. “Battery costs constitute a substantial part of the overall cost of an EV,” said Vivek Srivatsa, Chief Commercial Officer of Tata’s Passenger Car Electric Mobility Division. “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.”
With the reduced prices, the annual cost to run an electric Nexon for around 15,000 km will work out to Rs. 15,000 only, compared to Rs. 96,021 for the diesel variant and Rs. 1.2 lakh for petrol (factored in for Delhi, where diesel is priced at around Rs. 90 a liter, petrol at Rs. 97, and EV per unit charge is Rs. 10). This means that the additional cost of buying an electric car compared to a petrol car can be recovered in just under a year. The on-road price of petrol Nexon is Rs. 14.2 lakh, while electric is at Rs. 15.1 lakh, due to subsidized registration costs for green cars. The diesel variant already costs more than electric, with an on-road price of Rs. 15.4 lakh, and stands to lose from Day One.
Srivatsa said that Tata Motors aims to accelerate the “mainstream adoption of EVs” through these measures. “We believe that at these accessible prices, Nexon and Tiago electrics have become an even more compelling proposition to attract customers.”
MG Motor has also cut the ex-showroom price of their Comet mini electric by Rs. 1 lakh and the car is now priced at Rs. 7 lakh. However, the biggest challenge to the growth of electric cars remains the poor charging network for EVs in cities. The charging infrastructure is still very poor, even for a city like Delhi that has a big focus on green energy. Additionally, many people worry about the life of the electric battery after 8-9 years, although companies claim that the salvage value of the discharged battery will still be lucrative, and any replacement will not cost much.
