E-tigor debuts as most affordable e-car
Tata Motors’ e-tigor, the most affordable e-vehicle among ESUVS and e-cars, went on sale on Tuesday. The vehicle is priced between ~11,99,000 and ~12,99,000.
“With e-tigor, we plan to take EVS to the next level of affordability,” said Shailesh Chandra, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors. The company is targeting upwardly mobile urban car buyers who opt for an automatic transmission car and who are willing to spend up to ~13,00,000, he said.
“The saving per kilometre for e-tigor is ~6.5. So, if you have a 12,000-km running, the savings would be up to ~78,00080,000, meaning in the ownership period of 4-5 years, it can
translate into savings of ~3.5-4 lakh,” Chandra said.
Available in three trims, the model is powered by a 26-kwh liquid-cooled, IP 67-rated battery pack and claims an extended Arai-certified range of 306 kilometres. The exshowroom Delhi price of the comparable Tigor top-end model is ~7,81,000. Including
registration, insurance and road taxes, it goes up by almost a lakh. Electric Vehicles are exempted from road tax and registration. This further reduces the price gap betweeen combustion engine-powered vehicles and EVS.
The prices of most other EV models in the premium and super premium segment of passenger vehicles are almost double of combustion enginepowered models.
On whether Tata Motors is taking a hit financially on enexon and e-tigor, Chandra said, “We are in the business of value creation and will not run any business that is not profitable. I can confirm that it is a profitable business vertical.” He declined to comment on the volumes planned for the e-tigor.
Tata Motors entered the EV market for personal buyers in the first quarter of FY21 with e-nexon. According to Chandra, the mindset on EVS has seen a rapid change in the last one year and has got an additional thrust due to the state government-led incentives. The e-nexon sells the same number as Nexon diesel — i.e. 1,800-2,000 units a month, he said.