Tata Nexon EV at Rs 13.99 lakh is India's most affordable all-electric SUV

Prices for the Nexon EV have been announced, with Tata Motors’ second, all-electric car costing between Rs 13.99 lakh and Rs 15.99 lakh (ex-showroom, all-India) and available in three variants. It should be noted that prices are introductory and are expected to increase at a later date. The Nexon EV will be available in 60 dealer outlets in 22 cities.

At this price point, the entry-point to the Nexon EV range starts about Rs 700,000 higher than the conventional-engined compact SUV's. Interestingly, prices for the only other all-electric Tata – the Tigor EV – starts about Rs 100,000 lower, but the compact sedan’s ARAI-rated 213km is significantly down on the Nexon EV’s 312km range.

Considering the base XM variant’s price of Rs 13.99 lakh, the features list isn’t scanty – with LED DRLs, automatic climate control, keyless entry and go, and power windows are standard. Although, it does miss out on premium kit like 16-inch alloy wheels, dual-tone colour options, power adjustable and folding mirrors, a 7.0-inch colour MID and an Android Auto and Apple CarPlay-compatible 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, all of which come with the XZ+. The top-spec Nexon EV XZ+ LUX adds a sunroof, auto headlights and wipers, a height-adjustable driver’s seat and an eight-speaker Harman-sourced speaker system. Tata has also introduced its connectivity suite, ZConnect, which comes with 35 features.

Tata’s Nexon EV debuts the company’s Ziptron electric tech, which we’ve been reporting on for a while now. The all-electric compact SUV has a 30.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack that powers a motor mounted on the front axle. This electric motor produces 129hp and 245Nm of torque, which helps the Tata Nexon EV do the 0-100kph run in a claimed 9.9sec.

While a standard 15A AC charger will take about 8-9 hours to charge the battery to 100 percent, a CCS2-compatible DC fast charger will take the battery up to 80 percent in just an hour. Tata hopes to build consumer confidence by offering an energy regeneration function that will replenish the battery when the compact SUV is coasting and braking, as well as an 8-year/1,60,000km warranty on the motor and battery. Teh rest of the car has a standard 3-year/1.25 lakh kilometre warranty and a 5-year extended warranty pack.

Besides providing a free home charger, Tata will also provide access to 300 DC fast chargers, with preferential rates for Nexon EV owers. The network is set to expand to 650 outlets by March 2021. In addition, Tata will also provide moibile charging services in the five major Indian metros, initially.

Besides the electric powertrain, there isn’t much to differentiate the Nexon EV from the compact SUV’s facelift, that launched recently. A closer look at the design does show that the all-electric model gets a number of blue highlights.

We’ll have to wait until the Mahindra eXUV300 arrives, but for now, the Tata Nexon EV is the most affordable all-electric SUV on sale in India; the MG ZS EV costs Rs 20.88-23.58 lakh while the Hyundai Kona Electric retails at Rs 23.72-23.91 lakh.

All prices, ex-showroom, pan-India

INTERVIEW: Tata Motors’ Shailesh Chandra: ‘Our ambition is to be proactive winners in the electrification space.’