Tata Motors is preparing to go full tilt in the electric vehicle (EV) space to claw back lost market share as rivals turn up the heat with an aggressive pipeline of products spread over the next few years. In addition, merging the EV arm with the passenger vehicle entity is also on the anvil.
“In the mid- to long-term, we should come back to 50% share,” Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, shared at the recently-held Investor Day in Mumbai.
The new plans include pushing up the drive range of the EVs by 60% to expanding its sales reach by four times to achieving price parity with internal combustion engine cars. The launch of two new EVs in the mid-term are also planned, in addition to those that are being developed under the Avinya brand of premium offerings.
While further details are awaited on the new launches, Tata Motors is calling them ‘bespoke EVs’ that are to be introduced in the next 18 months and beyond. The first from the Avinya range will get launched by the end of 2026.
Tata Motors’ market share in the EV space more than halved to 35% by the end of May 2025 from 81% in FY23, according to data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. JSW MG Motor and more recently Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) chipped away its market share, riding on new product launches.
“In the mid-segment (Rs 12-20 lakh) where we have the Curvv and the Nexon, our market share is low at 36%. But we are taking some significant action to improve and hit the sweet spot of price, range and features this year which will improve our share,” Chandra said.
He added, “The high segment which is above Rs 20 lakh is where most of the barriers of EVs are taken care of. We have launched the Harrier with a range of more than 500 km.”
For their limited drive range, Tata cars like the Tiago and Punch are treated as ‘city cars’ with a range of 250 km. With a share of 78% in this entry EV segment, the company hopes to push up volumes by offering a bigger drive range.
“It is imperative for us to enhance the value of the entry segment. This (segment) is where a lot of demand lies. The task is to take the range from 250 km to 350-400 km in the entry segment with a lower cost structure to achieve price parity and it should be differentiated as against the ICE offering,” Chandra added.
While the first generation EVs were priced nearly double compared to their petrol counterparts, through significant parts localisation, battery price reduction and reduction in non-cell related prices, Tata Motors has achieved price parity on certain models.
For instance, the automatic version of the electric Nexon creative variant is priced at Rs 14.79 lakh while the same variant with an engine is priced at Rs 14.32 lakh. The entry version of the newly launched Harrier is priced at Rs 22.95, which is lower than the engine variant of Rs 23.06 lakh.
From 230 locations and 1,100 EV sales points, Tata Motors is aiming to expand to 1,000 cities and towns over the next four-five years. A separation of distribution of EVs and passenger vehicles is being considered by the company.
“While I cannot give a confirmatory answer to this, it is a very logical step to consider not only separation of the distribution but may be brand also. At this stage I can say that it is under active consideration,” Chandra explained.
Tata Motors has lined up investments of Rs 16,000 crore which will be funded through a combination of revenues from PLI, business cash flow and through funding from the PV company.
“There will be a point in time when we will merge it back into the PV company. That will also take care of the future changes that we need to put; have full flexibility,” said PB Balaji, group CFO, Tata Motors said.
