Tata Motors Tiago EV extends special price after 10,000 bookings within hours on Day 1

Tata Motors has crossed 10,000 bookings for its latest electric vehicle — the Tata Tiago EV — by 12 noon on the day bookings opened. The Tiago EV is the smallest electric vehicle from Tata, and one of the most affordable electric cars in India.

Tata Motors launched the Tiago EV at an introductory price starting from Rs 8.49 lakh for the first 10,000 customers, but seeing the overwhelming interest of customers, the firm has extended the introductory pricing to another 10,000 customers.

In the initial offer, Tata had said that out of the first 10,000 units, 2,000 vehicles would be reserved for the current owners of Nexon EV and Tigor EV.

During the initial hours of booking opening, the Tata Motors website faced temporary glitches as customers rushed in to book the electric hatchback.

Brokerage firms say that Tiago has the potential to become the "best-selling EV in India".

Nomura expects Tata Motors to sell 3,000-5,000 units of the Tiago EV a month. The brokerage has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 520, which implies an upside of more than 32 percent from Tuesday's closing price.

Tata Motors trades at 4.3 percent times its embedded value-to-EBITDA estimate for the year ending March 2024, according to Nomura.

The brokerage maintained its view that every one percent gain in market share in passenger vehicles has the potential to add Rs 5,000 crore to Tata Motors' market value.

Jefferies has a 'buy' call on Tata Motors with a target price of Rs 540.

Electric vehicles currently form eight percent of total passenger vehicle volumes for Tata Motors. In September, Tata Motors EV sales rose 217 percent YoY at 2,831 units.

Customers can book the Tiago EV after paying the booking amount of Rs 21,000 at any authorised Tata Motors dealership or on the official online booking portal. Tata has said that the Tiago EV will be on display across leading malls across major cities in October 2022, and customer test drives will begin in late December 2022. Deliveries will commence from January 2023.

The Tiago EV comes with two battery set-ups, driving modes and connected car telematics, among other features. The 25 kWh battery pack option offers a driving range of 315 km, while smaller the 19.2 kWh battery pack variant delivers an estimated range of 250 km.