Tata Motors Launches Updated Punch.ev Starting at ₹9.69 Lakh, Targets Mass EV Adoption

Tata Motors' electric vehicle division, TATA.ev, launched the refreshed Punch.ev on February 20, 2026, positioning it as an affordable entry point into electric mobility for Indian households. Priced from ₹9.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), the company says the vehicle brings EV ownership close to price parity with comparable petrol-powered cars in the entry-level segment.

The new Punch.ev is available in three personas — Smart, Adventure, and Empowered — and comes with two battery pack options: a 30 kWh and a larger 40 kWh LFP prismatic cell unit. The 40 kWh pack delivers a claimed real-world range of approximately 355 km and an ARAI-certified range of 468 km, while fast charging from 20% to 80% is said to take around 26 minutes. Tata also claims the car can recover 135 km of real-world range in just 15 minutes of charging.

One notable addition is a Lifetime HV Battery Warranty covering unlimited kilometres, applicable to the 40 kWh battery pack. The company defines "lifetime" as 15 years from the date of first registration for the original owner.

For buyers seeking a lower upfront cost, Tata is offering a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) financing option, which separates the battery cost from the vehicle price. Under this structure, the car can be purchased from ₹6.49 lakh, with a per-kilometre battery EMI of ₹2.6. The company notes that the BaaS option will be made available soon, subject to financier approval.

On the charging infrastructure front, TATA.ev states its network now spans over 2.3 lakh charging points across 1,500 cities, with more than 30,000 public chargers aggregated through partnerships with over 30 charge point operators. The company also highlighted its superfast charging network of 450+ charging points across 130+ highway hubs, with an expansion to 800 points planned by FY26.

Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., said the new Punch.ev addresses the core concerns — affordability, range, charging access, and battery confidence — that have historically kept buyers from choosing an electric car as their primary vehicle.

The Punch.ev is built on Tata's acti.ev platform and competes in the subcompact electric SUV space, a segment the original Punch helped establish in India.