"Right now customers over-index on the range" - says Vivek Srivatsa, Head of Marketing, Sales Service Strategy, Tata Passenger Electric Vehicles

Range and charging infrastructure are the two main challenges for electric vehicle adoption in India says Vivek Srivatsa, head of marketing at Tata Motors. “They don't need to over-index on that, because daily usage for most people is not over 100-150km at best.”

In a freewheeling conversation on the sidelines of the Tata Curvv concept unveil Vivek talks to editor Sirish Chandran about the challenges with EV, the reaction to the Nexon EV, the importance of ICE powertrains and also what happened to the Sierra concept shown at the 2020 Auto Expo.

“We are kind of the only player right now, which is good and bad also. We enjoy monopolistic dominance in the market, but we’re the only ones really pushing in that market. For the future, for many reasons, including environmental and CAFE compliance and also in terms of the way the whole ecosystem is moving, I think EV is a very important pillar for us in the future.”

“We see ICE being the major choice of customers, at least for the rest of this decade. But we have to firmly focus on the transition now, start understanding what the customers want on the EV side, and how we can really satisfy their demand. EV customers are not looking at just the powertrain, they’re looking at a completely different experience of what an EV is. Overall as an industry, we need to first understand the changes that the customer wants, and then start delivering it, which you know is a very long and exciting amount of work. So it will be a challenging few years but all of us don’t really have an option but to live up to that.”

“Number two is about charging infrastructure. Number three is about how connected their car is, and how much of a ‘device’ it is. But the primary thing is about range. We are addressing that, with Generation 2 we move higher in terms of range, and charging infrastructure is moving up in the country. But what’s more important is as EV markets grow people will understand that while the range is important, they don't need to over-index on that, because daily usage for most people is not over 100-150km. It’s going to create new scenarios in terms of use cases, and that is going to open up the market. But right now, current customers want to over-index on the range, want to be very assured about the charging infrastructure and manufacturers are working on that. Customers will also start rationalising their fears around that and we’ll see a good meeting point.

“But very quickly we realised what is the potential. The waiting list is long because we’re not able to make enough. But it also encourages us to start expanding the market, like what we did with the Concept Curvv, in terms of giving more and more options to the customers, and more importantly, customers should see EVs as something which is long-term. Many people ask us why have we done this today. It’s to show that companies are investing in the future, which is very important. Just like consumer electronics and mobile manufacturers show a clear definition of the future, I think we need to start treating EVs that way to build customer confidence.

“Usually cars that are shown in Auto Expo get launched before the subsequent Auto Expo. So that’s largely our thinking. But it also kind of pegs a milestone on the road, both for us and for the customers in terms of what they can look forward to. So it’s like challenging ourselves, and also giving customers something to look forward to.”

“Hopefully you will hear something good about that in the future. As for the name Sierra, I think this [Concept Curvv] doesn’t do true justice to what a Sierra is, so we can’t call it the Sierra. With the Curvv, we’ve gone ahead and said we’ll be doing it. Sierra, we’ve always said that customer response was great and it is also in our wish list, is all I can say.”

“In terms of purely a mass-market customer point of view. Customers are very open in the SUV category for new shapes, and new use cases and we think this will go down well. We are already seeing with premium manufacturers that coupe body styles are doing well, one because it offers all the looks and performance of an SUV but also greatly enhances design, and I think customers will take to it. We think they have a very good role in the mass-market segment as well.”

“The ‘curve of evolution’ is what we had in mind, It so happens also that the roofline is a nice curve on this car. That’s what came in and there are also elements of semantics that we look at such as how easy it is to pronounce, in India with so many languages does it have any negative connotations and all that. It just found a sweet spot everywhere. The way it is written, with two ‘Vs’ also looks more modern and new age as well."

“It is an expression of technology, and some of the material finishes, especially in terms of the EV point of view. It is a trend for Tata Motors, our concepts are very close to what comes out and with this car also we are very confident that we’ll get a lot of this character, these elements, this expression of design as far as materials [go] into the EV version of the Curvv.”

“We are trying to create new designs, new body shapes, new use cases so that customers can align with the product. That’s the way. Having said that, I think hatchbacks are still 45 per cent of the market. There are certain segments we are not present in, and we’ll continue to try to be there, in case there’s a possibility. But SUVs today are 40 per cent of the market as we speak, and it continues to grow, so they’ll be a big part of our portfolio.”