Tesla killer from India? This $21,200 Tata EV claims a 300-km range

The Nexon EV, set to be available this January, is Tata's first electric SUV, fitted with the company' new Ziptron electric powertrain technology. The car is expected to offer a range of 250-300 km on a full charge.

FEATURES: The Nexon EV sports Tata's new "Ziptron" powertrain, which utilises a permanent magnet AC motor that develops 129ps of power and 245Nm of torque. It draws power from a 30.2kWh battery pack. Tata claims a range of more than 300km on a single charge for the Nexon EV, whose battery pack also reportedly supports fast charging, pumping up to 0-80% charge in less than an hour.

NEXON EV BATTERY, INFOTAINMENT: It has a high-density, liquid-cooled battery pack, meant for Indian conditions. The battery pack follows the "skateboard" design, placed underneath the body, giving the Nexon, an SUV, a centre of gravity comparable to that of a sedan, improving stability and handling on winding roads. It also comes with a Harman infotainment system, and supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

TATA’S CORE COMPETENCY: Tata Motors is a competitive Asian powerhouse. The biggest challenge for Tata Motors, however, is whether or not it can put together the right team to pull off an AI-based self-driving system that would rival Tesla’s and make its EVs as compelling to both the domestic and international customers.

TESLA VS TATA: The California-based EV disruptor run by Elon Musk, dubbed as the “Thomas Edison of our time”, has adopted a simple strategy — build high-end, low-volume EVs now and, with the money it makes, subsidize mass-production models tomorrow. Tata, on the other hand, has a wealth of experience in building made-for-the-masses vehicles in its home turf, India, a country endowed with software skills, industrial prower and competitive labour cost.

PRICE: The 300-km-range Tata Nexon EV is listed Rs15.00 lakh (Dh77,807), about $21,200. Tata Motors, which also carries the Jaguar Land Rover brand, has a wealth of experience in building affordable ICE vehicles.

ON SALE THIS 2020: Expected to go on sale this 2020, the price is significantly lower than an entry-level Tesla Model 3 (which starts at $35,000).

DESIGN AND FEATURES: Inside the $21,200 Tata Nexon EV, which has a claimed range of 300 km on a full charge, due to roll out this 2020.

CHARGING: Nexon EV charging options include fast charting (CCS 2), which delivers up to 80% charge in 60 minutes. Regular charging, using any 15-Amp plug point, takes up to 8 hours to get a 100% charge.

30.2 KWH BATTERY: Nexon's 30.2 kWh li-ion battery is IP67-certified. Tata states the battery has been rigorously tested over 1 million km and is designed to operate under extreme ambient conditions.

TESLA’S CORE COMPETENCY: Tesla has a world-leading proprietary battery technology. But it is primarily a software company, instead of being just a pure auto manufacturer. So far, Tesla is the only automaker that's also leading in the development of AI-based self-driving system, with billions of kilometres of data harvested from its fast-growing fleet of EVs across the world, which are then used to "train" artificial neural networks to make full self-driving (FSD) as a revenue-generating service.

BATTERY TECHNOLOGY: A standard-range Tesla Model 3 has a claimed range of 409km (based on WLTP standard). Tesla has moved from 18650 to the 2170 cylindrical lithium-ion battery format for its popular Model 3. Its EV batteries are made through a partnership with Japanese-owned Panasonic. Tesla has also acquired Canadian battery maker Hibar Systes Ltd. as the company ramps up in-house battery systems for its growing number of vehicles.

Tesla seeks to build its own batteries, and has made back-to-back acquisitions — US super-capacitor maker Maxwell ($218 million) and Canadian battery manufacturer Hibar Systems as well as AI startup DeepScale last year. Indians, on the other hand, have a wealth of software engineers spread all over the world. How soon can they put together a battery system and the spaghetti of codes in order to compete head to head with Tesla’s AI-driven self-driving vehicle system? Only time will tell.

The world’s cheapest electric car, the Chinese-made Ora R1 costs just Dh31,500 ($8,440).

RANGE & PRICE: The Ora R1, made by China's Great Wall Motors, which claims the EV has a range of 350 kilometres on a single charge, supplied by a 35kWh battery pack.

The budget-friendly EV from Great Wall Motors has a claimed range of 350 kilometres from its 35kWh battery.