Range rage in India

The EV popularization scheme in India is off to a slow start. The government in Delhi reportedly ordered hundreds of electric cars from Tata and Mahindra but officials are refusing to use them, the reason being range.

The Tigor and e-Verito manage no more than 80 km in Indian real-life traffic conditions within city limits. The lack of public charging points certainly does not help with the range issues. In response to the range failure, Mahindra has begun developing a new electric vehicle that will provide more mileage, according to an anonymous source.

A Tata spokesperson said: “We are committed to the government’s e-mobility mission by 2030, and continue to work in a collaborative manner to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India.”

Update, July, 6: Tata went even further in their defence, saying their research show an average 50 km of daily use and hence the specified range of 130 km should suffice. It should but not if the above is true and their electric cars rather range around the 80 km mark. Well, that’s real-life.

livemint.com, fortuneindia.com (Tata response)