In an interaction with a media house, Tata Motors has revealed that the Tata Nexon, which is the company’s first long-range EV, could get a range and performance boost
Launched earlier this year, the Tata Nexon Electric is the most affordable electric-powered SUV you can buy in the country. It’s also the first long-range electric vehicle in its company’s lineup with an ARAI-rated range of 312 km. However, it looks like the performance and the range of electric car would be boosted with the launch of the first update for the new model.
Revealing in an interaction with Overdrive on Instagram, Mr Anand Kulkarni, Vehicle Line Director, Product Line Electric Vehicle Business (Passenger Cars) has said that the Ziptronic EV technology of the Nexon will continue to evolve and hence, improve the performance of the vehicle. Not just this, even the range will get extended with the roll out of the update.
It won’t be anything out of ordinary for Tata Motors to update its EV technology. Several EV manufacturers, including companies like Tesla and Nissan, have been regular with rolling out updates to improve the performance of their respective models. These improvements occur due to advancements in technology that help EV manufacturers boost the range without increasing the battery size.
Also, reduction in battery pack helps the carmakers to boost the range by offering a bigger battery or reduce the price by sticking to the same size. As per BloombergNEF (BNEF), battery prices have already reduced by a whopping 87% from USD 1,100/kWh in 2010 to USD 156/kWh in 2019. Moreover, they will further reduce to 100/kWh by the end of next year.
The Tata Tigor EV is a good example of how a carmaker can update the range to make the car more likeable. In 2019, the electric compact sedan received a bigger 21.5 kWh battery pack with an extended range of 213 km on a full charge. Similarly, the Neon EV could get a pretty significant boost in its range and performance.
The Tata Nexon EV comes with a permanent magnet synchronous motor that gets its juice from a 30.2 kWh lithium-ion battery. The motor is capable of pumping out a maximum power of 123PS and a peak torque of 245Nm. The motor comes mated to a single-speed gearbox that has a reduction ratio of 9:1. If company figures are to be believed, the Nexon EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 kmph in just 9.99 seconds.