What is the affordable electric car of 2022 in India?
Electric vehicles are the future. They will make our air cleaner, drive down petroleum demand, and give us independence from oil.
The Tata Nano CNG was the first car launched by an Indian carmaker that ran on compressed natural gas, or CNG, which costs one-fourth of petrol for cars running between 60 km to 100 km per day.
However, they have so far been slow in getting started because the cost of batteries remains high compared to conventional fuel technologies. This has made its initial price tag expensive even when taking into account the lower running costs. But the momentum is shifting in favour of electric vehicles, which are particularly attractive in India because of its high fuel prices.
There are several car manufacturers who see the potential of this market and have started working on launching affordable electric models to capture public imagination. Some international brands like Tesla will launch their cars by 2022, while at least one Indian Maruti Suzuki has already announced it plans to launch an electric version of the Wagon R before 2022.
The recently held Auto Expo saw many new announcements around electric mobility for developing countries including a concept model from Datsun – Nissan’s budget brand. Here are some affordable cars that might become available in India by 2022:
Upcoming Electrics cars in India in 2022
1. Tata Nano CNG Electric Version
Tata Motors has unveiled a prototype electric version of its Nano. This is the least expensive car in India and this new model will cost even less than what it currently sells for.
The company claims that this electric version of the Tata Nano CNG would be able to do 100 kilometres on a full charge, which takes five hours through a normal socket at home. Also, Tata Motors assures that an 80 percent charge can be acquired in just 40 minutes if you have access to fast-charging technology.
2. E-WagonR Maruti Suzuki
Maruti is planning to launch an electric version of its popular Wagon R by 2022 and is eying a price tag of Rs 4 lakh. While the company has not revealed details, it has said this model will have a range of 100 kms on a single charge which can be extended further if needed with fast charging technology.
3. Tata Tiago Electric
The Tiago EV was announced earlier in 2017 and will be launched later this year as India’s first affordable car to come with pure electric power train. It is expected to start selling for around Rs 5 lakhs, while sitting on an all new chassis specially designed for EVs to lower the cost of manufacturing the car. The car is expected to have a range of 100 kms per charge.
4. Datsun Redi-Go Pushed To 2021
In 2018, Nissan Motor India will launch its budget electric model for developing countries called the “Datsun redi-Go” in India which reflects that it will be positioned as an entry level car below the Datsun Go hatchback model. The car is being developed by group’s global design team at Japan and will be co-developed by Renault SA in order to reduce costs through economies of scale and changes towards common platforms. The group has decided to push its launch date from early 2022 due to technological challenges related to lower price points.
5. New Maruti Suzuki Alto K10
Maruti Suzuki still enjoys a strong market share in India and its new model is expected to be priced aggressively at Rs 3.5 lakhs which will make the car even more affordable. It will also have an all-new design of exterior and interior, while sharing the platform with the WagonR model. This EV is expected to be launched in 2022 with targeted production volumes of 50,000 units per year across various manufacturing plants.
6. Tata Tiago Electric XT Prototype
Tata Motors has unveiled an electric prototype called “Tiago Electric XT” that would get power from LiFePO4 batteries for long range driving comfort along with quick charging facility. It is expected to give high performance acceleration while attaining 80 percent of charge in 45 minutes. All this with a range of 200 kilometers on a single full charge which can be further extended with fast-charging.
7. Tata Nexon Crossover Electric
The brand has also showcased a crossover model called “Tata nexon crossover EV” which is expected to have over 300 kilometer range on a single full charge and fast charging facility to achieve 80 percent of charge within 50 minutes. This affordable car will be launched by 2022 with estimated sale volumes of 5,000 units per month from the beginning.
8. Mahindra e2o Plus
Mahindra is launching an electric version of its popular hatchback called the E2O Plus model which comes with a high price tag of Rs 8.65 lakhs but is expected to provide a range of 120 kms per charge and quick charging facility to achieve 80 percent of charge within 2 hours.
9. Cheapest Tesla Model 3 In India
While the cheapest model available at $35,000 in US would cost around 1 Crore INR in India due to import duties and taxes on electric cars which makes it highly expensive for Indian customers. However, if we consider its future launch sometime between 2022 then the car might become affordable as per government’s ambitious plans for mass inclusion of EVs by 2030
10) Tata H5X SUV Electric hatchback
Tata Motors has showcased H5X SUV concept that was launched earlier this year at Geneva Motor Show. This electric SUV concept includes a lightweight design with good aerodynamic features and sharp exterior lines along with improved interiors. The car would have a range of 400 kilometres on a single full charge which is expected to start from Rs 25 lakhs in India by 2022 after its launch.
11) First Made In India Electric Car From Ashok Leyland
The company has plans to manufacture fully electric buses, two-wheelers and cars that are targeted for Indian market. It will spend Rs 609 Crore investment through 2022 for this purpose which would eventually help it beat Tesla Motors of USA in terms of production numbers (planned volumes). Currently, the company sells electric buses under the brand “Volvo” while working on more affordable models.
12) Premier Rio Electric Car
The company has plans to launch electric version of its popular hatchback “Rio” by 2022 which would be made available at more affordable prices than any other imported cars due to automatic price reduction through economies of scale and improvements in technology. This car is expected to have a range on full charge of 180 kms with quick charging facility to achieve 80 percent of charge within 30 minutes. It will also have an attractive exterior design along with enhanced interior features that are being planned for future cars from the company.
13) Cheapest Electric Hatchback From Maruti Suzuki
The Japanese firm aims to cut costs related to electric vehicles so as they could be more affordable for consumers which has been possible with economies of scale and mass production. That’s why we can expect an affordable electric car from the company by 2022 which is expected to have a range of 120 kms per charge.
14) Hyundai Kona Electric SUV: Best Crossover Electric Car In India!
Hyundai has showcased its upcoming crossover model called ‘Kona’ that would be available in two petrol variants along with one diesel variant but the most exciting feature about this car is its “electric” version which will come out sometime between 2022-23 and it will be undoubtedly the best electric vehicle for Indian customers looking to buy crossovers at reasonable costs because it will come with a plug-in hybrid system (PHEV) as well. That means it will also have a petrol engine for backup when the battery runs out of charge while on the move which would help improve its range to around 500-600 kms per full charge in city conditions with good charging infrastructures available along with affordable prices for Indian customers.
15) Tata Tigor Electric
Tata Motors has showcased their future plans of making electric version of their popular hatchback “Tigor” in India at Interi Expo 2018 where they displayed an all-electric concept car, the Tigor EV. This new electric model would be launched by 2022 and is expected to come in two trims – one with lesser features than another having extra features but both these are expected to come with 240 kms range on a single charge.
16) Tesla Model 3 In India
Tesla has already started taking booking for its Model 3 in the United States, China and European countries. The car would be launched around mid-2019 which is expected to increase demand for electric vehicles in India as well due to attractive pricing which might start from Rs 30 lakhs or so. This sedan will enter Indian markets at a time when most of the cars would have been launched with high-range batteries, fast charging facilities etc along with attractive exterior designs & interiors. For instance, Maruti Suzuki could launch their first fully electric car by 2022 having 300 kms range per full charge that will further improve demand not only for this model but also all other electric cars in India.
17) Tata Tiago Electric
The success of the company’s hatchback “Tiago” has encouraged Tata Motors to manufacture its electric version which would be available by 2022 with a range of 140 kms per charge. The car is expected to have an attractive exterior design along with high-quality interiors that are being planned for future cars from the company.
18) Mahindra E2O Neo And More…!
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to launch more affordable models during this decade starting 2019 onwards like the company has already unveiled their new model called ‘E2O neo’ which is essentially an updated version of older E20 model but it comes at half the price of older model. That means the new version is expected to be priced around Rs 7 lakhs or so which could attract potential buyers who are looking for affordable electric cars in India considering that it will also come with some additional features as some new models from other brands. However, it’s not confirmed that this E2O neo would be ready as early as 2022 as stated by the company but if they do manage to launch it on time then we can expect more such electric cars from various manufacturers at similar prices to make them affordable for everyone.
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