Tata Motors Ltd shares gained as much as 5.3% in intraday trade on Wednesday after the auto maker launched its electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) Nexon EV on Tuesday, pricing it aggressively at Rs 13.99 lakh onwards (ex-showroom, all-India), the cheapest in its class.
At 11:48 am, shares of Tata Motors were trading at Rs 184.70, up 4.9%, after hitting the day’s high of Rs 185.45. The stock has risen 6.5% in the last one year compared with a nearly 13% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.
The Nexon EV is reportedly first of four electric vehicles planned by Tata Motors over the next 24 months. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said that the company is planning two electric SUVs, one electric hatchback and one electric sedan.
The middle variant (XZ+) of the Nexon EV is priced at Rs 14.99 lakh while the top-end (XZ+ LUX) is priced at Rs 15.99 lakh. Notably, MG Motor and Hyundai had also recently launched their electric SUVs -- ZS EV and Kona -- priced at Rs 21 lakh and 24 lakh, respectively.
Tata Motors claims that the Nexon EV has a drive range of 312 km under standard test conditions, while its real driving world mileage is around 250 km. Fast charging will take 60 mins to fully recharge Nexon EV, while slow chargers will take 8 hours to charge the car, the company said.
Tata Motors also announced its plans to build an ecosystem in India for electric vehicles, under which it will be setting up charging stations and building a battery recycling plant.
Tata Power, which has already set up 100 electric vehicles charging stations in the country, is planning to add another 650 stations in more than 20 cities over the next one year.