[TusharK]

Tata Motors has imported a Hyundai Porter electric LCV from South Korea for R&D purposes.



A leaked document confirms that the Porter EV imported by the company is a 2021 model with chassis no. KMFZCZ7NFMU021446. The truck measures 5,105 mm in length, 1,750 mm in width, 1,970 in height and its wheelbase is 2,810 mm. It comes with an “Extra Long Super Cab” and a cargo bed measuring 2,860 mm in length and 1,630 mm in width.

The Porter EV uses an electric motor that has an output of 181 BHP and 395 Nm. It is powered by a 58.8 kWh battery pack, offering a range of 211 km.



The Porter EV can be charged using a 100 kW fast charger from 10-80% in 47 minutes. A 7.2 kW slow charger takes about 8 hours and 30 mins to recharge the battery to 100%.

Automakers often acquire vehicles for R&D purposes. Tata Motors could be looking to adopt the technology used in the Porter EV in its upcoming electric LCVs.

Thanks to Santhosh for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Link to Team-BHP News

[arjab]

Common practice for OEM's to acquire vehicles from across the globe for Benchmarking and Teardown analysis. In India, Tata Motors has one of the best TD & BM facilities at its Pune location with a huge repository of data harnessed from benchmarking vehicles across the globe.
Benchmarking & Teardown helps the OEM to understand the detailed engineering, and most importantly, the cost structure, underpinning a competitor's product.
TML's, BM & TD budget is considerable. You'll be amazed to see the plethora of competitor vehicles jostling for space at TML BM facilities.

[ads11]

Tata does have its EV version of the Ace out right? How has that been doing? I don't expect it to be setting sales charts alight but some traction would be very welcome. They make so much sense for inner city logistics. Hope Tata doesn't drop the ball, they've been extremely proactive in the EV segment in India, hoping they can replicate their PV success in the CV segment too.

This seems a marginally larger size to the Ace right?

[maddy42]

Piece of advice for Tata. Please please work on the following issues.
I own one Tata ace zip which i bought used for farm work.
The vehicle needs to be in first gear to pull load uphill. Thats the reason you see them struggle in flyovers.
The engine head had to be worked on to get the overheating issue fixed.
The yearly insurance cost is insane. The resale value is horrible.
Fixing anything needs the car on a ramp or you better have babies fingers. Half the local mechanics will not touch this vehicle.
The vehicle has a capacity of 750kilos but every driver says we can load it to 1.2 tonnes.
The spare parts are hard to purchase and you need to visit a city to get it. Its super expensive to fix and i have a jeep which is fixed at a cheaper price.
Good speeds on a flat road but please pray daily as the brakes are horrible and there is no safety for the driver.

Silver lining in all of this - Mahindra Jeeto has engine issues at 40k kms while this one can last double that.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by ads11

Tata does have its EV version of the Ace out right? How has that been doing? I don't expect it to be setting sales charts alight but some traction would be very welcome. They make so much sense for inner city logistics. Hope Tata doesn't drop the ball, they've been extremely proactive in the EV segment in India, hoping they can replicate their PV success in the CV segment too.

This seems a marginally larger size to the Ace right?

All the big retail players like Amzaon, Big Basket and others ordered ~38K ace EVs, I guess they need more than an year to cater to these customers, deliveries should begin soon.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

All the big retail players like Amzaon, Big Basket and others ordered ~38K ace EVs, I guess they need more than an year to cater to these customers, deliveries should begin soon.

Ah, that's a good sign though. I hope they deliver the entire consignment in a timely order and that Ace EVs become the norm in urban centres. I didn't realise they hadn't started on the deliveries though. What sort of monthly production numbers does Tata do for the Ace (ICE version) just to get an idea?

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Piece of advice for Tata. Please please work on the following issues.
...
The yearly insurance cost is insane.
...

Just curious, what can TML do to resolve this? Smaller engine/lower load capacity?

[Anwesh]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Just curious, what can TML do to resolve this? Smaller engine/lower load capacity?

The Ace Zip/Iris has the smallest engine of the Ace family. It is a 611 cc single cylinder Diesel, manufactured by Greaves Cotton Ltd. The same engine is used a few other three wheeler manufacturers. The Ace Zip shall perform like a three wheeler goods carrier, albeit with the comfort of a four wheeler.

Regards,

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Just curious, what can TML do to resolve this? Smaller engine/lower load capacity?

Maybe the insurance firms know something more on the vehicle which Tata maybe missing. The premiums being higher could be due to the cost of repairs or the depreciation of the product.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Maybe the insurance firms know something more on the vehicle which Tata maybe missing. The premiums being higher could be due to the cost of repairs or the depreciation of the product.

The Ace Zip is the smallest of the line with the smallest engine, isn't it? IMHO - its best to use as a last-mile in-city carrier. A good replacement for the horrible 3 wheeled Piaggios for instance. Its not supposed to be overloaded / taken racing on fast roads anyway. For any other purpose - I'd rather opt for the Ace / Intra / SuperCarry / Dost (depending on need and budget).

As for insurance - cost of repairs / depreciation have nothing to do with that I think. Insurance is only going to cover for the cost if its for an accidental damage, not regular usage based failures and repairs.

Anyway - we digress. I don't think the use-case of the Ace Zip can be discussed much on a thread for importing a Hyundai carrier EV for R&D. Its not a like for like comparison at all - especially since TaMo also makes good vehicles and Ace Zip isn't the benchmark of their capability.