Tata Nexon EV was the car that showed India the way forward in the passenger EV space.
Since 1947, some cars have played a legacy role in helping the Indian automobile industry grow. Whether it's the Ambassador from Hindustan Motors or the Indica from Tata, some models have paved the way for an entire segment of vehicles in the nation.
In this article of the ‘India On Wheels’ series, we recall the journey of a car that started the electric vehicle movement in India in the passenger vehicle segment. It also became an important player in the subcompact SUV segment, which is why every other car manufacturer joined the EV race in the nation.
(Credit- The Economic Times)
The car in question is the Tata Nexon EV, which made its debut on January 28, 2020 – a period when neither the market had much knowledge about electric vehicles nor the country had a convincing electric infrastructure. Not to forget, the world was two months away from getting hit by the pandemic. In short, it was one of the greatest gambles that Tata took, but fortunately, the gamble paid off.
To produce a new vehicle, whether it is a car, motorcycle, or truck, a manufacturing plant typically sets up a new production line. However, setting up a new and separate production line for an upcoming vehicle is an expensive proposition.
With EVs being a relatively new concept in 2020, Tata could not risk investing too much money in setting up a production line. Therefore, they took the Indian path of ‘jugaad.’
(Credit- Reuters)
According to a report by the Mint, the manufacturer used an unused shop floor at its flagship factory to assemble the car’s battery and electric components by hand. In fact, initially, eight cars were made every day by hand to not only control the company’s capital but also release an electric vehicle that was affordable for the masses.
(Credit- Tata Motors)
Despite the pandemic, Tata managed to sell 2,602 units of the Nexon EV in 2020, followed by 9,111 in 2021. By 2023, Tata had surpassed the milestone of selling 50,000 Nexon EVs, and the company had sold over 8,00,000 Nexons, including a significant number of Nexon EVs.
Since its debut in 2020, the Nexon EV has undergone several facelifts, and currently, nearly 10 variants are available in the market. The base model of the car starts at INR 13 lakh and ranges up to INR 20 lakh for the top variant – all prices are on-road but vary from state to state due to changes in taxes.
Given that the car is still seen as a new product in a market that is itself new, the Nexon EV does not receive enough credit for being the pioneer in India's passenger EV segment. Decades later, the car will be honoured, just as we do today with the likes of the Ambassador, 800, Sierra, and so on.
