Tata Motors has a lot riding on the newly launched Harrier EV, coming as it does on a fresh, EV-oriented software platform, and at a time when several of its EV racehorses are starting to show their age.
03 Jul 2025 | 1182 Views | By Ketan Thakkar, Prerna Lidhoo & Darshan Nakhwa
Amid shrinking EV market share and intensifying competition from Mahindra and JSW MG Motor, Tata Motors is making a bold comeback with the launch of the Harrier EV. Incorporating Tata’s new T.idal SDV architecture, the SUV is a key component of Tata’s plan to reclaim leadership in electric vehicles. With ...
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Amid shrinking EV market share and intensifying competition from Mahindra and JSW MG Motor, Tata Motors is making a bold comeback with the launch of the Harrier EV. Incorporating Tata’s new T.idal SDV architecture, the SUV is a key component of Tata’s plan to reclaim leadership in electric vehicles. With this in mind, the company has come up with a model that is fundamentally different from anything it has launched in the market so far, incorporating EV-native engineering, digital-first thinking, and deep localization. By blending the iconic Harrier design with the Acti.ev Plus platform, T.idal architecture, and an advanced E&E system, Tata Motors is hoping it has a winner on its hands that can lead its charge into the Rs 20 lakh-plus EV segment.
Beyond ICE Conversion
The original Harrier was built on the Omega Arc platform derived from Land Rover’s D8 architecture, and stood out with its unique mix of road presence, ruggedness, and premium appeal. Fast forward to 2025, and the Harrier EV has undergone a radical transformation—not just in propulsion but in its very DNA. “The Harrier EV is not a conversion—it’s a reimagination,” says Anand Kulkarni, Chief Product Officer at Tata Motors.
“We retained the Harrier’s iconic silhouette for brand equity, but what’s underneath is entirely new: a new platform, a new suspension system, a new digital core, and a new mindset.” Unlike Tata’s earlier EVs, like the Nexon EV, which adapted ICE platforms, the Harrier EV is built on an electric architecture designed to accommodate high-voltage components, large battery packs, and advanced software integration.
“Post-COVID, customers want experiences—adventure, connectivity, and comfort,” Kulkarni explains. “They see the car as a ‘third space,’ like home or work, demanding safety, technology, and capability to match India’s diverse climates, from deserts to snowcapped mountains.” The Harrier EV delivers this through a purposebuilt platform and a softwarefirst approach.
Engineering a Ground-Up EV on Familiar Form
While the Harrier EV retains the recognizable Harrier silhouette for brand continuity, its engineering is entirely new. The Acti.ev Plus platform, a significant evolution from the Omega Arc (itself derived from Land Rover’s D8), supports a flat floor for optimized space, a dual-motor Quad Wheel Drive (QWD) system delivering 504 Nm of torque, and a scalable Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) stack powered by Tata’s TIDAL architecture.
The shift from the Omega Arc platform to the new Acti.ev Plus architecture marks a targeted technical leap for Tata Motors, aligning the Harrier EV with the demands of a true electric vehicle. While the original Harrier was built on the Omega Arc—a localized version of Land Rover’s D8 platform tailored for diesel engines and rigidity—it lacked the structural flexibility needed for EV-specific features like a flat floor or large battery packs.
“The D8 was Indianized for ICE as Omega Arc, but it couldn’t support a flat floor, multilink suspension, or large batteries,” explains Tata’s engineering head, Gajendra Kulkarni. In contrast, the Acti.ev Plus is a dedicated EV platform engineered from the ground up around the battery. It eliminates the transmission tunnel for a completely flat floor, enhancing interior space and lowering the center of gravity for improved handling.
The Harrier EV also benefits from a new multilink Ultra Glide suspension with frequency-dependent damping—offering a plush ride without compromising lateral stiffness. Battery integration is another standout: the platform supports large 65 kWh and 75 kWh LFP packs (from Octillion) with cylindrical cells and liquid cooling, delivering a real-world range of 480–505 km (C75 metric) and up to 627 km under ideal conditions.
Power comes from a 291 kW (390 hp) dual-motor setup—induction motor in the front and permanent magnet in the rear—with intelligent torque distribution that boosts efficiency by 7–8% compared to fixed split systems. This architecture ensures the Harrier EV isn’t just an ICE retrofit but a true "born EV," purpose-built for electric mobility.
T.idal: The Software-Defined Heart
The Harrier EV’s T.idal (Tata Intelligent Digital Architecture Layer) is intended to be a game-changer, running 500 million lines of code to make the vehicle a true Software- Defined Vehicle (SDV). “We’ve moved from hardware-dominated to software-first,” Kulkarni emphasizes. “T.idal’s cockpit domain controller delivers smartphone-like responsiveness, integrating infotainment, ADAS, and vehicle systems.”
The architecture, debuting with the Harrier EV, marks a leap into the era of softwaredefined vehicles. At its core is a Cockpit Domain Controller powered by high-compute Qualcomm Snapdragon chips and Continental processors, centralizing infotainment, navigation, and vehicle controls for a seamless user experience. Standout features include "Anywhere Park Assist," which leverages a precision touchpad interface (offering 15-degree granularity versus the typical 45-degree) and a 540° stitched surround view system with underfloor visibility and rim protection, making urban parking effortless.
The Harrier EV also introduces Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) capabilities, allowing it to power external devices or charge other EVs. Continuous over-the-air software updates ensure the vehicle stays current post-purchase. Underpinning this is a completely reworked Electrical and Electronic (E&E) architecture, enabling the heavy compute needs of T.idal. This E&E setup is scalable, with plans to adapt it across Tata’s future EV lineup, though tailored for cost and feature relevance in smaller models.
ADAS, Tailored for India’s Chaos
Tata Motors adopted a ground-up approach to reengineering the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) in the Harrier EV, specifically to suit the unpredictability and density of Indian driving conditions. Unlike traditional ADAS setups that often rely on rigid intervention logic designed for Western Road discipline, Tata’s engineering and data science teams used insights gathered from real-world Indian traffic scenarios—ranging from erratic lane changes to informal right-of-way behavior—to recalibrate the system’s response threshold and decision-making logic.
The system minimizes aggressive interventions, offering reassuring assistance tailored to Indian roads, with features like lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control, and a 540° surround view for enhanced safety. The result is an ADAS suite that behaves more like a calm, supportive co-driver rather than an overbearing machine, the company claims.
For instance, lane keep assist won’t panic at faded or absent road markings, and forward collision warnings are tuned to distinguish between actual threats and everyday closeproximity traffic patterns. "Our goal was to make ADAS a trusted companion, not a reason for disengagement," Kulkarni says.
From Diesel Torque to Instant Electric Thrill
The ICE Harrier was known for its diesel torque, but the Harrier EV elevates performance with 504 Nm of instant torque and a 0–100 km/h sprint in 6.3 seconds, making it Tata’s fastest high-segment SUV. “We wanted it to feel planted, responsive, and effortless on any surface,” Kulkarni says. The Ultra Glide multilink suspension and QWD system ensure stability and traction, whether on urban roads or off-road trails.
The Harrier EV’s torque distribution algorithm optimizes efficiency by prioritizing the motor's operation at its peak efficiency point, adapting to terrain and driving conditions. “We want a 50% share of India’s EV passenger car market,” Kulkarni states. With a feature set that includes a 12.3” infotainment screen, a 10.25” digital cluster, JBL sound, and a panoramic sunroof, it competes head-on with rivals while offering India-first innovations.
Yet, even as the Harrier EV underscores Tata Motors’ significant technological progress, a few design and market challenges lie ahead. The decision to retain the familiar silhouette of its ICE predecessor ensures strong brand continuity but may stand out less in a segment where some rivals, like Mahindra’s XeV 9e and MG Windsor, are opting for more radical, EV-native styling to signal a future-forward identity.
While the Harrier EV’s clean design and premium stance still resonate with a wide audience, a section of early adopters may look for more visually disruptive cues. At the same time, with competition intensifying in the Rs 20–30 lakh EV segment and consumer expectations evolving rapidly, Tata Motors will need to build on this strong foundation with a robust charging ecosystem, agile software upgrades, and sharper brand differentiation.