India's leading electric car maker by market share, Tata Motors launched its fourth electric vehicle Punch EV at a starting price of ₹11 lakh rupees ex showroom on January 17.
Tata Motors has been dominating the electric car market with the Nexon, Tigor and Tiago EV and now expects Punch to contribute to at least 20% of the company's electric car sales.
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Punch EV design centred around the battery pack. This will be the only electric car in India to offer 315 kms and 420 kms of range packs in ₹11-13 lakh price point", Shailesh Chandra, the company's managing director told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interview.
The car maker hopes is eying 40% growth in electric car sales in FY24. It has already sold over 50,000 electric cars this fiscal. Ahead of the interim budget due in February 2024, Chandra urged the government to consider subsidies on electric cars bought by individuals for personal use. Currently, the government subsidies only support electric cars bought for shared mobility and on those bought by cab aggregators.
The company's Managing Director strongly advised against any tax concessions for hybrid vehicles.
"Hybrid is not a new technology and has been around for many years. At the end of the day, hybrid cars may have an electric motor but also run on fossil fuels and have gasoline engines. Globally, the electric space is seeing a lot of competition and the focus of regulations is to encourage adoption of electric vehicles. The policy direction needs to be clear, there is no need for digression from the governments electric vehicle roadmap", he said.
Chandra's remark came after DPIIT recently wrote to the Ministry of Heavy Industries asking them to consider cess reduction on hybrid cars.
Tata Motors MD has also sought a level playing field with the likes of Tesla and Vinfast that are looking to enter the Indian EV market. "Competition is welcome, but there should be a level playing field. No company should ask or get differential treatment and concessions."
