600 Kms of real world range in an affordable electric car? Well, that’s nearly what the Tata Punch.EV has managed to achieve on a highway in Rajasthan, in the run up to launch. Yes, the Punch.EV was being hypermiled by an experienced automotive journalist but still, nearly 600 Kms of range is game-changing. While we’ll get into why this is such a big deal in just a bit, check the video out for yourself.
As the video indicates, the Tata Punch.EV Facelift was driven all the way from Jaipur, Rajasthan to Himmatnagar, Gujarat, a distance of nearly 600 Kms. The Punch.EV Facelift ran out of charge after 593.6 Kms.
Mystery no more
Tata Motors has been teasing us about the Punch.EV’s range, and battery capacity for a while now. We even put two and two together to predict that the facelifted Punch.EV would get the 45 kWh battery pack from the much larger and pricier Nexon.EV. That’s more or less certain now, for the Punch is delivering some serious range – only possible with a larger battery.
The outgoing Punch.EV’s long range trim uses the 35 kWh battery, and Tata Motors claims 421 Kms of ARAI certified range. ARAI certified range means range that you and me cannot get in the real world.
As a thumb rule, an/any electric car will deliver about 2/3rds of the ARAI range, which means about 280-300 Kms on a full charge of the Punch.EV’s 35 kWh battery. But well, with 45 kWh (~30 % larger battery), a realistic range would be about 370-390 Kms.
The latest video indicates that this kind of adds up. The journalist who hypermiles the Punch.EV Facelift gets about 600 Kms – and that’s similar to what ARAI does in its test. So, a real world range should be about 400 Kms, which is 2/3rds of 600.
400 Kms of real world range and fast improving electric fast charging highway infrastructure means the Punch.EV Facelift will move from city EV to a genuine highway-worthy electric car. And given the fact that it will sit below the Nexon.EV 45 kWh in terms of price and positioning, it’ll be the longest range affordable EV in India. Now, that’s a genuine game-changer!
Circling back to our previous prediction of the Punch.EV getting a 45 kWh battery pack, the teasers that Tata put out had more than one hint.
- Lifetime battery warranty. The smallest battery that Tata offers lifetime battery warranty is the 45 kWh unit found on the Nexon and Curvv EVs.
- More power and range. The Nexon.EV with 45 kWh uses a 143 Bhp-215 Nm electric motor, a step up from the 120 Bhp-195 Nm unit of the outgoing Punch.EV Long Range (LR) trim. Again, this means that the Punch.EV must get the bigger battery for more performance and range.
- Faster charging performance with 60 kW maximum charging speed, which is a 20 % step-up over the current 50 kW.
- And now, the latest video. These things more or less confirm the 45 kWh battery on the Punch.EV Facelift.
Pricing?
We expect the Punch.EV Facelift’s top-of-the-line LR trim to sit alongside the Nexon’s entry level Creative 45 kWh trim. A 13.99 lakh rupee introductory price for the Punch.EV Facelift’s LR trim is likely.
CarToq will be reporting live from the Tata Punch.EV Facelift’s launch at Mumbai on the 20th of February. We also have some Tata senior management interviews lined up to know more about the Punch.EV Facelift. Watch this space for some more nuggets in the run up to the facelifted electric Punch’s launch.
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