The country’s second-largest passenger vehicle brand, Tata Motors’ progression into the electric vehicle space has been accelerating over the last few years. And its showcase during the inaugural day of the 16th Auto Expo here on Wednesday was representative of both its present and future in electric mobility. Three electric concepts and one near production-ready EV on the next Generation 2 platform were unveiled by Tata Motors at the Auto Expo 2023.
The company is the current market leader in the passenger BEV category with its three current offerings: the Tiago EV, Tigor EV, and Nexon EV. The near-production-ready EV that was unveiled was the Harrier.EV, a four-wheel drive SUV built on the same design blueprint as the current internal combustion engine Harrier but with distinctive Tata EV character. The EV concepts that Tata Motors displayed include the public unveiling of the Avinya concept that the company had first shown in mid-2022.
Avinya concept
The Avinya concept is built on the Generation 3 architecture, which is a pure electric platform. The concept that was most anticipated from Tata Motors at this Expo was the Sierra EV concept. Referring back to the original Sierra’s design, a much-loved Tata SUV during the 1990s, the new Sierra EV concept features classic Tata design cues and the unique dome glass roof that the original Sierra sported. The other concept that Tata Motors unveiled was the internal combustion engine version of the Curvv concept that the company had first unveiled for the media last year. The ICE Curvv concept sports an SUV-coupé design and a sporty profile.
Speaking about the future of mobility from the passenger vehicle perspective, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, said, “With an aim to attain net zero emissions by 2040, we are spearheading this mission on the back of our three-gen EV architecture strategy. With the Tiago EV, we have disrupted the market by making EVs more accessible. Today, we have unveiled products across Gen 2 and Gen 3 architecture with the Avinya, Harrier.EV, and our showstopper, the Sierra.EV, which will make EVs more aspirational. EV contribution in our portfolio is likely to increase to 25 per cent in five years and reach 50 per cent by 2030.”
Tata Motors also showcased the Altroz iCNG and the Punch iCNG with new twin cylinders for fuel storage. This enables the vehicles to offer a larger, much more usable boot area.