Tata Motors to begin EV production at Sanand plant from April

New Delhi: Tata Motors plans to commence production of electric vehicles at the Sanand plant, acquired from Ford India, from April this year, as per a top company official.

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, a unit of Tata Motors, acquired the facility from Ford India for Rs 725.7 crore in January last year.

"We are planning to commence electric vehicle production at Sanand with Nexon EV from April," Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles MD Shailesh Chandra said.

The company has already commenced production of internal combustion engine-powered versions of the Nexon at the manufacturing plant with an installed capacity of 3 lakh units per annum.

It can be further scaled up to 4.2 lakh units per annum.

Chandra said the company is also looking to produce upcoming models at the facility.

When asked about the company's product pipeline, he said that Curvv EV would be introduced around the second or third quarter of this calendar year.

"We are also hoping that by the fag-end of this year, we should also be able to introduce Harrier EV and internal combustion engine (ICE) version of Curvv," Chandra said.

On sales outlook for the next fiscal, he noted that the passenger vehicle industry is expected to grow by 5 per cent.

"We have few launches planned, so will be targeting to grow better than the industry," Chandra stated.

On the Budget wishlist, he stated that extending FAME benefits to personal electric cars would help in accelerating the growth of electrification in the country.

Chandra noted that an increase in sales of electric cars was witnessed in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat when they offered incentives to the buyers.

"Also, there is a problem of inverted duty structure in EVs that is also something that we have been asking," he noted.

About talks on giving some concessions to a US-based EV major, Chandra said: "Our position is very simple that we are not worried about any specific competitor. Any player who is ready to participate in the EV space with upfront investment in localisation or charging infra development is welcome".

He further said: "We are not afraid of the competition...we are effectively dealing with the competition, all we seek is a level playing field".