India’s Tata Motors Developing Battery To Match Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona
Just days after Indian EV manufacturer Mahindra Electric announced plans to partner with LG Chem to develop new lithium-ion cells and battery packs exclusively for the Indian market, its main competitor Tata Motors has thrown a counter punch.
Talking to Indian auto news portal Autocar India, Tata Motors’ CEO and MD Guenter Butschek shared details of the company’s EV concept EVision that it showcased in the recent Geneva International Motor Show.
The EVision concept sedan showcased by the company is based on the Land Rover Discovery platform with a range of 300 kilometers per charge.
“The new battery packs are cylindrical, liquid-cooled and allow for a larger range from a smaller space. We can develop an attractive battery-powered electric for the Indian market with a range of over 300km,” Butschek told Autocar India. “If the battery development goes as we’ve seen, at this point of time, it would be possible for us to even offer a range of 400km,” he added.
Tata Motors has been gung-ho about the Indian government’s policy to push electric vehicles in the mainstream. The company placed a very aggressive bid in the first-ever tender for electric vehicles in India last year. Its competitor Mahindra & Mahindra noted that Tata’s bid seems financially unviable, but the former was forced to match it to maintain market share.
Tata Motors showcased its existing hatchback Tiago and sedan Tigor at this year’s Auto Expo India in electric avatars. The company is believed to working on several other models for its EV basket, which includes some borrowings from the Land Rover platform as well which it had acquired a few years back.
A flagship company of the Tata Group, Tata Motors has been struggling to complete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Honda, and Hyundai in the passenger segment for several years now. It seems that the company is now looking to aggressively position itself for the impending EV revolution in India.
Launching a variety of electric hatchbacks and sedans would help the company get an edge over the likes of Tesla and Nissan which have shown interest introducing their products in India, as well as Hyundai which will introduce the Kona next year.
Mahindra Electric has tied up with LG Chem to set up battery pack manufacturing facilities in India. LG Chem supplies battery packs to several automakers, including Nissan and Hyundai.
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