The Tata Punch EV is coming; will be re-styled to look more EV-like: Shailesh Chandra

When asked about the potential for a smaller EV, and possibly reviving the Nano brand, Shailesh Chandra remained non-committal.

At the recent launch of the updated Tata Harrier and Tata Safari, Tata Motors MD Shailesh Chandra highlighted the measures that need to be taken by the central and state governments to bolster the country’s patchwork charging infrastructure even as he spoke about the company's upcoming products and strategy.

“OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) need to be mandated by the government to set up more fast chargers, particularly on the highways. This is beneficial to them as well, as it creates a separate revenue stream for them,” said Chandra, in a sit-down interview with Moneycontrol. “The government had asked OMCs to set up 22,000 chargers, but it is yet to be implemented. We have gone to a great extent to create critical mass through Tata Power, but Tata Power alone isn’t enough,” he added. “Even at a residential level, there is no law mandating residential complexes and housing societies to set up common charging points, at present. That needs to be addressed,” he said.

The new Harrier and Safari SUVs, although upgraded with ADAS tech, continue to feature the same powertrain as before, and are noticeable for their absence of all-wheel drive capabilities. However, Chandra clarified that the demand for 4x4 technology is miniscule and that he would rather invest in electric technology, which will account for half of the brand’s passenger EV sales by 2030. “With the upcoming Harrier EV, I can look at providing all options for consumers, including a 4x4 option. I’m sure there will be demand for that in the segment. Investing in 4x4 technology for an ICE vehicle is not feasible in the long term. We’d rather focus on the future,” says Chandra, whose latest products are based on an old Land Rover platform. Providing all-wheel drive capabilities on an EV would mean equipping their upcoming SUVs with a dual-motor set-up with individual motors powering each axle. At present, Tata’s EVs including the Nexon and the Tiago EV come with a single-motor set-up.

Gen 2 EV

The Nexon and the Tiago EV, however, are based on the Gen 1 platform, something which Tata does not intend to mine for further electrification. Its next offering, due to launch between November and December (launch dates unconfirmed by Tata Motors), is the first product to be based on the Gen 2 platform, which, among other things, features greater range. “With Gen 2, the primary benefit is range. We can package prismatic cells, and Gen 1 is better suited to cylindrical cells because it can be squeezed into small crevices. But going forward, most international EVs are using prismatic cells.” The upcoming EV is an electrified version of Tata’s compact SUV, the Punch.

“Gen 2 also allows us greater flexibility with the form factor. So the Punch EV, which is coming, will be styled to look more like an EV,” he said. Although Chandra didn’t confirm whether aerodynamics will be enhanced to improve range, it is one of the chief advantages used by EV makers to maximise a vehicle’s range. “We’ll also be upgrading to more efficient, state-of-the-art electric motors and adding a lot more tech and multimedia features, which were sampled with the new Nexon EV. Because research has shown us that people prefer to spend a lot more time inside their EVs while they are being charged.”

When asked about the potential for a smaller EV, and possibly reviving the Nano brand, Chandra remained non-committal. “The potential is certainly there. But at present it’s not feasible to make an EV cheaper than the Tiago EV without severely compromising range. And at the moment, there’s no plan to resuscitate the Nano as an EV,” he concluded on the subject.

Diesel and CNG vehicles

The Tata Harrier and Safari also stand out in their segment as the only ones to exclusively offer diesel powertrains at a time when diesel vehicle sales are shrinking. Tata Motors aims to debut its new 1.5-litre TGDI turbo-petrol engine in the upcoming Tata Sierra, following which, it will be offered in the Safari and the Harrier. However, the TGDI’s arrival will be a mere four years before BS7 emission norms are likely to be implemented, which would mean investing a considerable amount in making the engine BS7 compliant. “Until BS7 is defined properly, I won’t have insight. There’s no specific timeline. But meeting BS7 norms will be a very expensive proposition, especially for diesel,” he said. Would it then make sense to tweak the BS6 V2 compliant diesels, when the future of diesels is uncertain? “I don’t know whether it will. Need to know more about BS7 rules before we take a call.”

Chandra is also quite positive about the brand’s CNG portfolio, with the sales receiving a boost thanks to the inclusion of the Altroz iCNG to it. “We’re seeing great demand in the CNG segment so we’re definitely exploring more CNG options for other segments, and the Nexon is certainly one of them,” said Chandra. When asked if CNG could potentially replace diesel, he said, “In the smaller segments, you’re absolutely right. But with the larger diesels, consumers are looking for power and torque along with the mileage and low running costs that CNG cannot provide. We are seeing demand from existing CNG customers who want to upgrade to a higher segment. Our existing diesel customers will upgrade to electric, which will meet all their requirements.”

Need for FAME III subsidy

Chandra has also been vocal about the need for the extension of FAME subsidies through FAME III. “The implementation of road tax for EVs in certain states has certainly affected demand. Not because consumers aren’t ready to pay for an EV. They’ve done the arithmetic and the road tax waiver is simply a bonus. But because with some states, like Telangana for example, there was a rumour that the waiver might come back. And when that happens the customer starts to wait.”

“In states like Maharashtra, during the peak of FAME II subsidies, we hit about 1,000 units a month and that has now stabilised to about 800 units,” he said, adding that the government needs to re-consider extending subsidies to private EVs with FAME III because EVs are still more expensive by 30-35 percent compared to ICE vehicles, which add to the oil import bill and add to CO2 emissions by 30 percent. “That needs to be kept in mind.”

Chandra also said that despite the relative stabilisation of international battery cell pricing, the brand is continuing to absorb certain portions of the costs instead of passing them on to the consumer. “But I think the cell pricing has fallen to a great extent. It will remain volatile for some time. But in the long term cell pricing will go down.” At present, Tata Motors imports 100 percent of the battery cells used in its EVs.

Watching Tesla

Chandra also revealed that the brand is keeping a close eye on new manufacturing methodologies, such as the one pioneered by Tesla, recently. Tesla, in a report filed by Reuters, is closing in on an innovation that would allow it to die-cast the entire underbody of an EV, unlike the 400 components required for an ICE vehicle. With this, Tesla is looking at manufacturing its EVs at a much cheaper cost.

“We are definitely keeping a close watch on this. These are big-ticket investments. So although I have nothing to share at this stage, we are analysing what sort of scale will be needed to justify that kind of investment. So yes, we are definitely looking into it.”