New Delhi, Sep 29 (BUS): Tata Motors on Wednesday launched an electric car with the lowest price tag in India at just over $10,000, as the country’s sole electric vehicle manufacturer seeks to attract more buyers.
Tata leads the electric vehicle market in India, aided by government subsidies and high import tariffs.
The move comes as local rival Mahindra & Mahindra is in talks with investors to raise up to $500 million for its electric unit and plans to launch its first electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) in January, Reuters reported.
Pricing for the Tata Tiago EV sticker, an electric version of the popular Tiago hatchback, will start at 849,000 rupees ($10,370). The bulk of cars sold in India, the world’s fourth largest auto market, are priced at less than $15,000.
That’s a lot cheaper than India’s next most expensive electric vehicle – the electric version of Tata’s Tigor compact sedan which starts at around $14,940. However, China has some electric car models starting at 32,800 yuan ($4,525).
“We are not striving to be cheaper,” Chandra said, adding that the goal is to bundle connected car features and other advanced technologies while keeping the price affordable.
Chandra said the “disruptive” pricing of the car would open up new opportunities and markets for Tata in smaller towns and cities, where buyers tend to be more price-conscious.
Tata, India’s third largest automaker, last year raised $1 billion from TPG (TPG.O) for its $9.1 billion valuation EV unit, and has laid out plans to launch 10 electric models by March 2026.
India’s car market is small compared to its population, with electric models making up only 1% of the total car sales of around 3 million annually, but the government wants to increase this to 30% by 2030.
The cheapest version of the Tiago EV – Tata’s third electric vehicle – will have a driving range of up to 250 kilometers on a single charge, while the more expensive version will offer a range of up to 315 kilometers.
Chandra said data from existing Tata EV owners showed average daily use of around 50 kilometers, prompting the company to offer a shorter driving range to keep the price down.
“There is always a challenge how to set the right price,” Chandra said, adding that the current label price was only for the first 10,000 buyers.
EAE