Tata Motors has really stolen a march in the EV race with its quick ICE-to-EV models. The brand plans to further solidify this lead with models on more advanced platforms; it has set up a new electric mobility sub-division and is now also establishing an umbrella brand, called .EV. Thus, like the e-tron is to Audi’s electric portfolio, .EV will be to Tata’s electric fleet.
Speaking to Autocar India at the Tiago.EV media drives, Vivek Srivatsa, head of marketing, sales and service strategy at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, confirmed that .EV will soon be the firm’s electric sub-brand, saying “This [.EV] will be our new electric branding and you’ll see it roll out across our existing electric range too.”
So far, to distinguish its electric models, Tata Motors simply added an ‘EV’ suffix to a model name, like the Tigor EV and Nexon EV. However, with the launch of the electric Tiago, Tata introduced a new .EV suffix. Hence, the electric Tiago is known as the Tiago.EV, and features .EV badges on its fenders and front grille, and also carries ‘Tiago.EV’ lettering across the tailgate.
The moniker also allows the brand to move away from the exterior blue colour accents that currently serve as the differentiating factor for its electric range. “By using this branding we can, if needed, also move away from the blue accents that we currently use to define the electric models and thus look at more body colours,” Srivatsa adds.
Moving away from the mandatory blue accents also frees up Tata Motors' designers who will now not be limited to body colours that blend well with the electric blue shade. Srivatsa also believes that while early electric vehicle adopters wanted something very visually different, EVs are now moving more into the mainstream and would thus not require that very visual difference.
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