Tata Tigor EV: The cheapest electric car in India
Tata Tigor EV has been available for personal use since October 2019, but only the extended-range model. It is powered by a 21.5 kWh battery pack that enables an ARAI certified range of 213 km/charge.
Electric mobility is gaining momentum in India, thanks to the growing environmental concerns and the push from the government to switch from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs. Admittedly, the transition to EVs is more evident in the case of two-wheelers while we still have very few electric cars in India. Nonetheless, a desire for cleaner mobility is pushing people to opt for electric cars, which is why several carmakers like Tata, Mahindra, MG, Hyundai, etc. have already jumped on the bandwagon. Now, if you are interested in buying a fully electric car for personal use, then your choices are quite limited and start from Tata Tigor EV, which is currently the most affordable e-car in India and starts from ₹12.59 lakh (ex-showroom, India) and ₹13.19 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). These prices are for the Tigor EV’s extended-range model that was made available for personal use in October 2019.
In case you are wondering why this EV costs more in Delhi than other parts of the country, then that’s because the Delhi government offers a subsidy of around ₹1.5 lakh on the Tigor EV, which effectively brings down its price lower than that in other states. Tata Tigor EV is closely contested by Mahindra e-Verito which costs ₹12.93 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Tata Tigor EV looks almost the same as its BS4 petrol counterpart but gets a closed grille, EV decals on the doors, and is available with a choice between Pearlescent white, Egyptian blue, and Roman silver colour options. Even the interior layout is the same as the regular model but the electric variant gets fewer features as opposed to the petrol-powered sedan. The EV gets a double-din infotainment system with Harman sound system, a semi-digital instrument panel with an MID (multi-information display), height-adjustable driver seat, power windows, AC, shark-fin antenna, etc.
The electric Tata Tigor makes use of a 21.5 kWh battery pack that enables an extended ARAI certified driving range of 213 km on a single charge. The sedan has 40.2 bhp with 105 Nm of torque on tap and also features two different driving modes — Drive and Sport — that allow the driver to optimize performance and range. But the top-speed on the vehicle is limited to 80 km/h. And as for charging time, Tigor EV can be fully charged in around 11.5 hours using standard AC charging point but a 15 kW fast charger can juice up the battery from zero to 80 per cent in 2 hours.