Tata Motors launches Punch EV, its first acti.ev-based car, starting at ₹10.99 lakh

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) has introduced its first electric car, the Punch EV, in India. With a starting price of ₹10.99 lakh (ex-showroom, all India), the Punch EV is available in five variants and two battery pack options.

This new model, which is based on the recently unveiled advanced Pure EV architecture (acti.ev), marks a significant expansion of Tata Motors’ electric vehicle (EV) portfolio.

The Punch EV maintains a similar silhouette to its internal combustion engine (ICE) counterpart but incorporates design elements from the Nexon EV. These include a full-width LED light bar at the front, a blanked-off grille, split LED headlamps and aero-designed alloy wheels.

Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited & TPEM, said, “Today marks a historic milestone in India’s EV journey as Tata.ev propels the nation into a new era of sustainable mobility with the launch of Punch.ev... It aims to catapult the Indian EV market, and leapfrog India into an era of pure EVs." He also revealed that the company has witnessed a 100-fold growth in four years, since the inception of its first EV.

Unique to the Punch EV, the charging flap is located at the front and features a motorised opening and closing mechanism. Customers can choose from 10 colour options for the Tata Punch, including four monotones: Seaweed Green, Daytona Grey, Fearless Red, Empowered Oxide, and Pristine White.

The Punch EV boasts more features than the ICE version. It includes a large 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an all-digital instrument cluster, and a twin-spoke steering wheel with an illuminated Tata logo. The HVAC panel has been redesigned with touch capacitive buttons.

Additional features include automatic climate control, a wireless charger, a jewelled gear selector dial, an electronic parking brake, six airbags, a blind spot monitor, and a 360-degree surround camera. Furthermore, a sunroof is available in Adventure, Empowered & Empowered+ personas for an additional ₹50,000.

The Punch EV is powered by a single motor setup paired with either a 25kWh or a 35kWh battery pack. The former is available with the Standard Range version, while the latter is offered in the Long Range trims. Notably, the Long Range versions are offered with an option of a 7.2 kW AC Fast Charger for an additional ₹50,000.

Bookings for the Punch EV have already begun at Tata Motors showrooms and Tata EV stores for a payment of ₹21,000. The Tata Punch EV is expected to compete with the likes of the Citroen eC3 and MG Comet.

The acti.ev architecture, which underpins the Punch EV, is built on four key pillars: Performance, Technology, Modularity, and Space Efficiency. It comprises four layers: Powertrain, Chassis, Electrical Architecture, and Cloud Architecture.

Tata Powertrain and Electric Mobility (TPEM) revealed that this architecture will be used for more than five products in the next 18 months, suggesting that a range of new Tata EVs and SUVs, including the upcoming Curvv EV, the new Sierra EV, and the Harrier EV, are likely to adopt the same architecture.