Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled TATA ACE EV—its first electric small commercial vehicle (SCV). The retail delivery of the SCV will begin in September this year.
Currently, Tata Motors sells about 150,000 units of TATA ACE a year, of which e-commerce companies buy 20,000. With the launch of ACE EV, e-com firms can now aim for sustainable last-mile delivery.
By 2030, Tata Motors expects electric vehicles (EVs) to penetrate 25-30 percent of its small commercial vehicle (SCV) segment. A company’s top official said that the transition is foreseeable with the availability of the battery-operated vehicles in the intra-city segment.
Girish Wagh, executive director of Tata Motors, said that ACE EV marks a new beginning in the commercial vehicle business of the company. Wagh was instrumental in developing TATA ACE, which did revolutionize last-mile delivery in many ways, 17 years ago.
The company, in a statement, said it would reveal the price of the TATA ACE EV at the time of the launch. However, Tata Motors seems to have secured interests in the vehicle from e-commerce companies like Amazon, Big Basket, City Link, DOT, Flipkart, LetsTransport, MoEVing, and Yelo EV. And 39,000 units of ACE EV have been booked by them already.
Based on Tata Motor’s EVOGEN powertrain, ACE EV offers an unparalleled certified range of 154 km, a safe all-weather operation with an advanced battery cooling and regenerative braking system.
Tata Motors is also working on hydrogen and LNG-run commercial vehicles as part of its sustainable mobility. It has sold over 625 electric buses playing across nine Indian cities. They have traveled a cumulative distance of 34 million kilometers.
Speaking during the unveiling of ACE EV, N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, said, “Sustainable mobility is the trend, as well as an imperative and, is irreversible. It’s a global megatrend. At the Tata Group, and Tata Motors, in particular, we have embraced this fully and made it into a business model that integrates sustainability as one of the key pillars.”
Image Source: Tata Motors