[slamnos]

Originally Posted by sajaijayan

There is still a lot of misinformation being spread about EV`s. Everyone talks only about cost of running and service cost, giving an incomplete picture of the savings. There is no comparison on costs when you take into account all factors. This is my humble opinion and hoping not to hurt any sentiments

Not sure why you taking this personal about hurting sentiments or misinformation being spread about EVs. I am only trying to quote facts.

Since the thread is about Tigor EV and if we compare Gasoline / Diesel car of similar price (Say Maruti Dzire) I dont think the maintenance & running car the car for 100k kms will exceed the premium paid for EV, cost of replacing the battery and resale value (all put together)

While EVs might become mainstream in future, at the moment its still not competitive and versatile as ICE vehicles.

[darkgamer]

Maybe I'm stupid and missing something, but I honestly see no point in comparing EVs in India to ICE cars, say comparing Tigor/Nexon EV to a 10L hatchback/compact crossover.

Due to basically no charging infra outside of big cities, they are strictly city cars for getting to work or doing errands. 180-200KM range means you can only go in a radius of 90-100KM (assuming you want to come back) in the best-case scenario. That rules almost any road trip/travel out of the equation. These are primarily targeted as second/third cars for folks already owning an ICE car for longer trips.

A person considering a 10L ICE car is likely looking at his only car for all kinds of travel, in which case an EV won't even come into the discussion at least not in the next 5-6 years.

On the other hand, if you're looking only for a city commuter these make an extremely solid case due to much lower maintenance costs, cost per km and the transmission at lower speed is going to be a lot more predictable due to uniform torque.

[kpkeerthi]

To me it doesn't matter if the car is practical for daily use or comes with niggles. What matters is TATA's efforts.

While companies like Maruti still mulling over cutting costs and maximizing profits with gimmicks like "smart hybrid" TATA is trying to bring cutting edge and proper electric to the masses. Great job TATA. The only thing missing in the equation is poor after sales experience. Now, how difficult is that to address Mr. Ratan?

[Herschey]

Tata has chosen the right path by introducing EVs as part of their model lineup. Just yesterday I read an article about Toyota successfully testing their EV powered by solid state batteries. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are also gaining traction globally and we might see them here too in the times to come. Technology adoption has become the name of the game and those who won't play by the rules would slowly but surely perish.

However, India is a highly price sensitive market and the 'Kitna Deti Hai' factor is a big contributor to purchasing decisions. So I just did a high level calculation of whether it would make financial sense to go for a car like the new Tigor EV over a similar ICE model and if it does, how much does the owner really stand to benefit over the lifecycle of the vehicle taken to be 15 years here, with an average running of 1500 kms a month.



These are just ballpark figures but it can be clearly deduced that EVs save in a good amount of money overall. Adding cherry to the cake are the government subsidies and the additional income tax benefits which I haven't even accounted for in these calculations.

For someone requiring a car only for city commutes, EVs make a lot of sense. They are zippy, fun to drive, and save a lot of money while being so. Charge them at home overnight and you are good to go the next day or maybe even two days. They have their limitations as of now but the benefits definitely far exceed those limitations.

People using a car for regular/ frequent long highway runs and people living in areas facing long and frequent power cuts should wait for some more time before the public charging infrastructure adequately covers major parts of the country and the cost of using such infrastructure also comes down.

To sum it up, we are headed in the right direction; an ecosystem where power is generated utilising an optimum mix of renewable and non-renewable sources and consumption is reduced through use of highly energy efficient products and services.

[Emvi]

Tata deserves all the praise for bringing out 'usable' EVs to the masses. The real world range of around 200 kms is not too bad for someone looking for a 2nd car primarily for city commutes. However, I find the standard warranty of 3 years/125000 km a bit incongruous. I am not sure how many of us have that kind of running and in this case we are talking about an EV with a rather limited real world range! Instead, a 5 years/100000 km standard warranty would have made a lot of sense.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Tigor EV was better than I expected

Excellent review and a standing ovation to Tata for bringing in the technology and finetuning it to keep up with times.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I think this is a desperate attempt to flog a dead car and in meantime, grab eyeballs and attention while the actually relevant Altroz EV gets ready. Tigor wasn’t anyone’s favourite child to begin with. And nobody is going to touch a Tata car which Tata itself sells as a taxi. The product may be decent in isolation but it’s a Tigor at the end of the day. A 7-8 lakh rupee car priced in the WagonR-Swift-Ignis range. Who is going to buy a Tigor for 13L?

Well look at it this way. With the atleast 2,50,000 INR incentives by states and a flat 1,50,000 INR tax rebate by Income Tax, the price comes down to 9 Lacs for the top end variant, which is a deal breaker, specially in cities wherein you have heavy traffic, your left foot needs rest, petrol is 100+ and you have the option to charge your car in the office/home campus. This is rarely going to be someone's 1st & only car, but a 2nd or a 3rd car and therefore better than a 8 lacs Swift/Dzire as a 2nd car at home.

[adityadeva]

I've gone through the thread extensively and really got a whole lot of different perspectives.

Teambhp is one of the very few forums in the world where educated people with quite a good level of self expression in English language (not being mother tongue) come up.

EV being a very serious business to be in, just for reason that fast emerging consequences of climate change drags us to take practical steps to address the disaster we as a species are making. The question is what sort of an earth we would leave behind for the generations to come.

But most of the petrol/diesel heads are in no hurry. So when even the well educated and elite bunch of homo sapiens of mostly Indians don't see much of a point in an electric vehicle, then what hope humanity can have from rest of lesser children of God.

In case Tata understood what I said, if sedan is what you want to build, do it on an Alpha or a better platform which can accommodate battery pack on its floor pan.

Ditch the sub4 meter Mantra because anyways you've over stepped 10 lakh psychological barrier.

Make it slightly low slung with a beautiful design, that's stately too with a strong character like skoda or Mercedes. A character that can take forward the legacy of the product.

Give it a powerful motor and bigger battery pack.

Make it an aspirational value vehicle. Here people buy Tesla for the elite thing it's to have. No-one is even remotely bothered about an EV when the amt of the same model comes at half the price.

Or whether the battery pack replacement after a few years down the lane might cost half of what is now. Or it could be possible that a better battery pack of double the range could be used with a different BMS and charging speeds (of course with modifications). Possibilities are endless.

But make a good looking trouble free Sedan with a hassle free After Sales Service. If that clicks, people will flock to whatever EV you sell. That would be the thug life moment of Tata.

The very simple psychology is that, when the owner of a 15 lakh+ stylish sedan, runs it cheaper than a 50cc moped and when he doubles it range at the end of battery pack life (that Tata should do ), people will start to think deferent.

[Mr.Ogre]

I honestly feel in five to six years time, EV technology and price would have matured enough to make a serious buy for anyone looking for personal mode of transport. Time to fully charge and cost to buy and own will be substantially better. At the moment it feels like early days of touch screen phones - and look where are we now. News of companies like Toyota, Hyundai pursuing Hydrogen powered cars could also open newer arenas and hence more options for the customers.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Well look at it this way. With the atleast 2,50,000 INR incentives by states and a flat 1,50,000 INR tax rebate by Income Tax, the price comes down to 9 Lacs for the top end variant,

Incentives vary drastically from state to state. Here in Faridabad and Gurgaon (Haryana), right in the heart of the super polluted NCR, we get basically nothing as benefits. There is no subsidy, and we even have to pay the road tax almost in full. There is a small discount, that’s it. There are no special electricity charges for EV charging either.

We have to look at this without the subsidies, otherwise the picture gets skewed and distorted. And when the subsidies are as good as what you get in your part of the world, it makes complete sense to go for the far superior Nexon EV instead.

[GTO]

Guys, if you are making a cost-benefit analysis versus an ICE car, you are missing the point. Like any brand new technology, it will be very expensive at the start. I paid almost Rs 50,000 for a basic Sony Ericsson GH337 phone in 1996-97 (2.5 lakhs today with inflation) and 16.80 bucks a minute for phone calls (INR 88 today).

Give it 5 - 7 years and prices will be more comparable to petrol / diesel cars. That is also when EVs will start going more mainstream.

Your reasons for buying an EV today would be = being environmentally conscious, early adopter, wanting the latest technology, projecting a green image and such. For the privilege, you will pay through your nose, have niggles & issues (aka beta tester) and contend with driving an outdated car in 3 years (as the technology is fast advancing).

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, if you are making a cost-benefit analysis versus an ICE car, you are missing the point. Like any brand new technology, it will be very expensive at the start. I paid almost Rs 50,000 for a basic Sony Ericsson GH337 phone in 1996-97 (2.5 lakhs today with inflation) and 16.80 bucks a minute for phone calls (INR 88 today).

Give it 5 - 7 years and prices will be more comparable to petrol / diesel cars. That is also when EVs will start going more mainstream.

Another important point is, companies are pricing their EV higher because they can. It's the same all over the world. With the battery prices declining almost 90% over the last decade combined with tax incentives and subsidies, the EVs should be already priced the same as their ICE counterparts. But traditional companies are only doing enough to meet the environmental regulations in the respective markets. Many companies are milking the subsidies and keeping the prices high so that governments won't withdraw subsidies quickly.

Subsidies won't help when companies trying to keep the sales to a minimum and milk the subsidies. Only competition and strict regulations can lower prices. Govt should follow a carrot and stick policy. As of now, they are giving the carrot only.

[clementw]

Great review. The premium for early adopters seems to be quite steep and the temptation to move upto the Nexon can cannibalize the sales, unless this is more of a product demonstrator.

[kartikthum]

Thanks for the great review!
I need to replace my 14 year old car (a BS 3 diesel engine). It's been delayed as we hardly use the car as of now, due to CoViD. But now I need to take a decision, and I have considered the following three offerings - MG ZS EV Excite, Nexon EV XZ+ & now the Tigor EV XZ+. I loved the MG ZS EV by the way, it felt like a perfect electric car! But after giving it a lot of thought, I may pick the Tigor EV, and here are my reasons -

1) ICE vs BEV: For me, cost of ownership comparisons with ICE cars does not make sense (it's not always numbers!). I am in the market only for EVs, we need to switch as soon as possible ...

2) Cost & Tech: I totally agree that EVs are still maturing, and I didn't want to put in a lot of money and end up with outdated technology in a very short span of 3 years. So this makes me hesitant towards picking the ZS EV

3) Performance: Considering my current car, performance in Tigor EV seems just enough for me, going by the reviews. So, I won't miss the Nexon EV in this aspect

4) Range: I will mostly use it in the city, with weekend drives to places under 80 km - a total drive of 150 km to 180 km.
Range wise ZS EV is far ahead, but again you pay for it accordingly. Between Nexon & Tigor, looks like Nexon isn't giving a lot more (considering the 3 lakh+ additional on-road price for XZ+ including insurance) - please correct me, if you think Nexon gives us considerably more range.

5) Safety: Here Nexon seems better, but again Tigor EV was at least crash tested (unlike Nexon EV), and it's probably ok to go with a 4 Star rated car (for child passengers with restraint, Nexon scores 3 stars, while Tigor gets 4 stars). I would be more confident though, if it was tested from the rear too, considering the battery is on the rear.

So, putting in 3 lakh less than Nexon EV, I get range close to it, with performance and tech that I find satisfactory - so Tigor EV it is!! And I hope I can make this my second car in 3 years or so when higher range batteries and technology become more affordable.

[sramanat]

I feel the Altroz would have been a better candidate for 'EV conversion' - a well liked car like the Nexon. Not many people bought the Tigor in its ICE avatar and not many will likely buy the Tigor EV. I suspect the addition of EV components on an Altroz seriously compromises the space and hence their choice of Tigor.
I am happy and proud of what Tata is trying here - i.e., to have the same car sell as both ICE and EV variants. This is where the mass adoption can truly begin. Pure EVs from Teslas to Konas are good to demonstrate the practicality/power of EVs, but have dual problems -
1. A new platform designed specifically for EVs, thereby bloating costs
2. Fear of the unknown causing hesitation among customers
Beyond the cheaper/weaker batteries in Nexon/Tigor, a significant portion of the lower prices is a result of sharing costs with their ICE counterparts. And the sales numbers are a direct result of buyers thinking "Mr. Sharma has a Nexon Petrol AMT, Mr. Gupta has a Nexon Diesel MT... I guessI can give Nexon EV a try".

[rsjagtap]

Amazing review. Can't wait to get my hands on this.
What would be the cost of the battery if one needs to replace it after a few years? I'm assuming that would be considered as maintenance?

Thanks.