Homegrown Tata Motors, which is the market leader in the electric passenger vehicle market in the country is reducing prices of its popular Nexon electric SUV, while also announcing new trims and extended range, as it gets ready to battle growing competition in the market.
Tata Motors made an early entry with the Nexon EV back in 2020 and over time followed it up with new variants of the electric SUV, as well as launching the electric Tigor and Tiago cars.
The electric four-wheeler passenger vehicle market is still small, but growing. In 2022, close to 37,800 of them were sold. The early inroads by Tata Motors have helped it garner a dominating 88 per cent market share.
But, competition is growing. Domestic rival Mahindra & Mahindra earlier this week, revealed the prices for its upcoming XUV400 electric SUV, deliveries of which will begin in March this year.
Other companies are also stepping up the accelerator. China’s BYD has launched the Atto 3 electric SUV in India and plans to launch an electric sedan later this year. Chinese-owned British brand MG Motor, which already sells the ZS electric SUV in the country, plans to launch a budget EV this year.
The price of the Nexon EV will now start at Rs 14.49 lakh ex-showroom for the Prime XM variant (a reduction of around 50,000), going up to Rs 18.99 lakh for the top-end Nexon EV Max XZ+ Lux trim (a decrease of around Rs 85,000).
Prices of the Mahindra XUV400 electric SUV start at Rs 15.99 lakh, going up to Rs 18.99 lakh. So, the starting price of the Nexon electric SUV will now be a sizeable Rs 1.50 lakh less than the entry-level XUV400.
Apart from the changes in pricing, Tata Motors has enhanced the range of the long-range Nexon EV max variants to 453 km based on the Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC), versus the earlier claimed range of 437 km, from January 25. Existing Nexon EV Max customers will be able to get the enhanced range through a software upgrade at dealerships, beginning February 15.
The company has also launched a new XM trim in the Nexon EV Max range. The XM trim will cost Rs 16.49 lakh ex-showroom and will come with several features like auto climate control, electronic parking brake, push-button start, connected car tech with smartwatch connectivity, and rear disc brakes among many other things. This new trim will also bring down the starting price of the Nexon EV Max variant quite a bit. The Nexon EV Max was launched in May 2022 at prices starting Rs 17.74 lakh.
While bookings for the entire Nexon EV range are open immediately, deliveries of the new XM trim will begin in April 2023.
Vivek Srivatsa, head of marketing, sales and service strategy, at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, pointed out that over 40,000 Nexon EVs had been sold in the three years since its been launched and has been driven over 600 million km.
“We are committed to making sustainable transportation accessible to everyone, and this repositioning is a big step in that direction,” he said.
Srivatsa further added that “smart engineering” and government incentives have allowed it to reduce the prices of Nexon EV. The government offers production-linked incentives for EV manufacturing in India.
Electric vehicles are going to be a big part of Tata’s passenger vehicle portfolio in the years to come. At the recent Auto Expo in Delhi, Tata Motors showcased several new electric vehicle models, including the electric version of the Harrier SUV and the electric version of the Sierra SUV of the past.