Tata Motors rolled out first batch of Tigor EV from Sanand plant in Gujarat in December 2017. Flagged off by N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons in presence of Ratan Tata and Guenter Butschek, it marks the first step towards the brand commercialising e-mobility solutions for domestic customers.
Under the 1st phase, Tata is supplying 250 electric Tigors having already received a letter of authority (LoA) while another LoA is expected to be issued by EESL for an additional 100 EVs. The first batch has now been officially delivered.
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Tata Motors CEO and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said that the EESL project is a perfect platform for the brand to showcase its development in electric mobility before offering a range of zero-emission vehicles to the Indian consumers and will act as a test bed for further improvement. The lowest bid of Rs. 10.16 lakh, excluding GST, proved to be the deal cracker as the EVs will be used by departments and ministries of the government through EESL.
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Currently, the JLR owner manufactures three vehicles from the Sanand plant in Gujarat: the Tigor, its hatchback cousin the Tiago and the entry-level Nano small car. The annual production capacity stands at a massive 2.5 lakh units. If the electric Tigor succeeds, will we soon be seeing a similar version up on sale at Tata showrooms? The possibilities are high but we might have to wait for quite a while.
Replacing the Internal Combustion engine, the electric motor has a maximum capacity of producing 39.95 horsepower at 55 kmph. It is much lower compared to the 114 hp the Tiago EV prototype was said to have and the regular Tigor. It has now been showcased at the ongoing 2018 Auto Expo giving us a good preview of how the production version for private customers will be.
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Tata sees no reason why the electric variant of Tigor cannot be sold for public and if it instigates enough enthusiasm it will likely be production in desired volumes. Currently, the brand is all pumped to deliver the destined numbers to EESL and according to Mr. Guenter Butschek, MD, Tata Motors the challenge at present is industrialization of entire supply chain to generate required volumes for EESL.
Tata Motors believes that the EESL order – acquired after beating two significant competitors – has given the brand a much-needed push. A wider portfolio of electric powertrain solutions has been confirmed and an announcement is soon expected. Butschek already said “2018 will be an electrifying year” and it could include introductions of electric Nano, Tiago and Tigor for private buyers.
The Tigor EV uses a 216 Ah 16V battery and 3-Phase AC Induction Motor. The top speed is rated at 100 kmph while the all important electric range stands at 130 km on a single charge. The charging time from zero to 80 percent is 90 minutes with fast charge and 3 hours using normal charger. The zero-emission powertrain is coupled with a single-speed automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels. The regenerative braking system assists in clocking more miles.