Tata Motors Ltd. has released an official statement in response to the wide array of allegations and implications made by the press, media, and government, regarding the cars (Tigor EV) that they supplied to the Maharashtrian government.

Context

Early 2018, Tata Motors won the contract to supply electric vehicles to Energy Efficiency Services Limited. (EESL), an energy service company under the government of India. As of May 31, Tata signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Indian government, agreeing on the supply of 1,000 units of the Tata Tigor EV. Their original agreement stated that Tata would put in place EV charging stations all across the country prior to and during the supplying of the cars. But the supplying of the cars to EESL, and therefore their subsequent deployment, was delayed, due to an ‘infrastructure problem’ involving a lack of available charging stations. The original plan involved trials by government officials to test out the cars.

An anonymous senior government official – from the ministry who decides the regulations that are placed on EVs – stated that the Tigor failed to even cover 80-82 Km in a single charge, and that battery standards were not nearly up to the global standard. Many other similar testimonials, are thought to be what caused the change in attitude of the government. Reportedly, the government is extremely unhappy with the results and many are apprehensive, if not already unpleasantly surprised. The media circulated this, and other information to a point where Tata issued a public statement to explain themselves.

Reply of Tata Motors on the above allegations:

There have been reports in some media regarding the unsatisfactory performance and mileage of the Tigor Electric Vehicles (EV) from Tata Motors procured by EESL for use by Government officials. Tata Motors would like to clarify on some of the facts that have been misrepresented and state the following points:

• Based on our interaction with the customers and EESL, we have not heard range as a major concern.
• The EESL tender of 10,000 cars has been an unprecedented initiative to accelerate the adoption of electrification. It was the first big step and the most effective way of generating real interest in the country for electric cars.
• We believe that EESL, after intensive consultation of experts, was able to strike the optimum balance between meeting the daily running requirements of the end-users and most importantly, price accessibility, finalized the tender specifications.
• Tata Motors has supplied the Tigor EVs to EESL in line with the specifications provided in the tender.
• In India, 74% of the car buyers are still price conscious with a budget of INR 400K-800K. For prices above INR 1.5 million, the customers are limited. In such a scenario, the biggest barrier to adoption of electric cars is price of the car itself, and battery cost is the key variable determining the same. The specification chosen by EESL helped in keeping this aspect under control, while choosing a range, which was good enough for the city use.
• Research findings shows that average running for a personal use in a day is around 50-60 kms. Therefore, with an overnight charging, a range of 130 km is more than adequate to meet the daily requirement. Also, with a fast charging network, the range concern could further be taken care of. A higher range of 250 kms and above would mean battery cost of more than INR 700k, which would take the electric cars price completely inaccessible for majority of the Indian customers at the prevailing Li-ion battery prices.
• In future, as the battery prices keep coming down, it is an imperative to increase the range for bringing further mental comfort to the consumer. The technology to deliver higher performance and range is available, but the country has to take a conscious call to whether prioritize price accessibility in the next few years, or create high performing and extended range cars with, most probably, a lower demand due to higher price.
• With our wide expertise and experience in providing smart mobility solutions, Tata Motors is technologically ready to create a range of electric cars, which meet the requirement of various use cases. We have introduced our first product, Tigor EV, which is custom-made to the EESL tender. In the coming years, we will introduce products with higher range and performance to bring greater excitement in the Indian market for electric cars. Apparently, the price of such cars will be on the higher side driven by battery capacity and cost.
• Tata Motors is committed to the Government’s mission of e-mobility by 2030, and continue to work in a collaborative manner to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India.