[wheelguy]

The dedicated EV showrooms likely to be set up within one year.

Greater Noida: Tata Motors is actively looking to set up exclusive outlets for its electric vehicle portfolio but has not yet taken a final call over the issue, a top company official said on Wednesday. The home-grown auto major recently ventured into the personal electric mobility space with the launch of the electric version of its most-selling compact Sedan Nexon recently.

Besides, the car maker also plans to roll out four more EV models in the next two years.

"It should be possible. it makes sense. We will try to see when we have at least a minimum range of vehicles (EVs), we will start some exclusive experience. We have some thought on it," Tata Motors electric vehicles business head Shailesh Chandra told at the Auto Expo here.

He said this also requires some investment, which the company is open to.

When asked by when the company was expecting to come up with such exclusive dealerships, Chandra said, "It may take a year or more".

"At the right time, we will comment when we are going to come up. A decision has to be taken," he added.

At the time of the Nexon EV launch, the company had announced the vehicle will be sold through the 60 Tata Motors dealerships across 22 cities. Besides, it has also been leveraging its network of consumer retail stores Croma for providing a digital experience by a new store-in-store concept.

He said Nexon EV has been taken very well as it offers a strong value proposition, adding Tata Motors is not far from any other global EV player when it comes to EVs than its vehicles with IC engines.

What could help more in EV sales in the country is that apart from the push, now there is a pull factor from the customers as well, he said.

"In the Indian market, we can be more successful because of the conglomerate's power," he said.

The company is closely working with other group companies such as Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Autocomp, Tata Motors Finance and Croma to create an e-mobility ecosystem, Tata uniEVerse, for faster adoption of EVs in the country, Tata Motors had said earlier.

When as what about the cost benefits that Tata Motors have accrued by taking other group companies on board in the making of Nexon EV, Chandra said that there are certain realizations that the company has got but they are going to benefit it in the long-term.

"Benefits are yet to come but it (the tie-up with group companies) should not be seen only from the cost perspective but also from the volume perspective, " he said.

Source

[sri_tesla]

I think this is a very good decision and hope they go ahead with separate stores and service centers for EVs.

• Currently Tata is selling 6 different models. With 5 more EV variants in 2 years (including nexon EV), it will be difficult to maintain all the models on the showroom floor.

• Dedicated EV showrooms with trained executives will make purchasing EVs easier for customers.

• They need not bring EVs to multiple existing showrooms. They can set up 2-3 dedicated in all major cities and 1 in smaller cities.

[libranof1987]

Is the jury out on whether such niche outlets actually help in increasing sales or experience? Maruti has Nexa and Arena but that's Maruti. Tata can use a brand overhaul for every customer, not just those looking at EVs. While there have been improvements and more can be expected with the rumored shutting down of Concorde but an exclusive outlet for EV may be too-much-too-soon.

Having EVs in the current showroom setup and enhancing the experience will help not just increase footfalls but also potentially cross/up-sell.

They can have dedicated EV showrooms once the brand picks up a name and following for itself.

[GTO]

Nope, I don't think it's a good idea. Primary reason = EV sales are minuscule today, and will be so for at least a handful of years. The existing dealerships are big enough and in good locations; better to leverage them, rather than compromise on size or location. Tata can very well have a nice dedicated area + sales personnel for EVs in their outlets.

I doubt any businessman will be willing to invest in a pure-EV dealership today anyway.

EVs are basically the same cars with another kind of energy source / fuel. Did we ever have separate dealerships for petrol / diesel / CNG / LPG?

[Turbanator]

They should try to take a lead and build infrastructure for charging on major highways/ shopping complexes first. One of the major issues with EV is the charging or range anxiety. Dealership experience can happen later. Even Tesla was operating from shopping malls before they had any numbers. They can have service and sales for EVs later as the EVs will need different type of mechanics/ spares.

Just the way Petrol pumps are setup, it will be possible to find owners of land to setup charging stations. Maybe add convenience stores as well. I don’t know why anyone has not yet started this yet. It will be a self sustainable model as there is a lot of land on the highways that can be put to use. Someone has to take the lead. Maybe involve Government for some reductions/ Power supplies.

[wheelguy]

Whether Tata needs separate channel for its EV portfolio or not is a separate story in itself.

But Maruti definitely needs one, they had a huge portfolio of cars, particularly hatchbacks, they cannot afford to keep all of them under one roof as the prices are overlapping.

Maruti's Nexa as everyone thinks is not just for premium appeal but primarily to avoid siblings eating up into each others sales!