Up until now, Tata Motors had just one all-electric car – the Tigor EV. And, that wasn’t even available for personal use until its Extended Range derivative launched in October this year. Now, we have a second electric vehicle (EV) from the homegrown automaker – the Nexon EV. What you see here is the production-ready version, and it will gain a price list by March 2020.

As you can see, the Nexon EV looks a bit different to its conventionally-powered sibling currently on sale. That’s because it showcases what the Nexon will look like after receiving a mid-life refresh. So, the newness comprises of the front and rear bumpers, headlamps, taillamps and the alloy wheels. The overall silhouette, however, remains identical as the outgoing version. Due to a slightly different set of mechanicals underneath, the Nexon EV rides a tad bit lower to the ground. However, the reduced ground clearance (at 205mm) will not be a deal-breaker.

In September 2019, Tata Motors said that the Ziptron technology would power the next-gen EVs. The Nexon EV is the first product to get that tech. In the spine of the vehicle is a 30.2 kWh battery pack which, apart from boasting IP67 levels of protection from dust and water, will come with an 8-years/1,60,000km warranty. It powers a front-mounted electric motor, which produces 127bhp/245Nm. Tata Motors says that the Nexon EV can travel more than 300km on a single charge, and can complete the sprint to 100kmph from nothing in 9.9 seconds.

Before we move along, let’s compare those figures with those of the Tigor EV Extended Range. With a 21.5 kWh battery, the sedan can travel up to 213km (ARAI-certified). And for the propulsion, its single electric motor produces 40bhp/105Nm. Although the Tigor EV comes with 50 per cent more travel range and features a 33 per cent larger battery than it did before, it cannot compete with the Nexon EV. Both models support fast charging. With the correct DC feed, the wait from zero to 80 per cent battery charge is about an hour. Through an AC charger, the Nexon EV would take around 8 hours to reach 80 per cent battery level from 20 per cent.

As far as the list of features is concerned, the Nexon EV will share those with the upcoming Nexon facelift. The list includes automatic LED headlamps, push-button start/stop, LED DRLs, rear-view camera, electric sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, Harman Kardon sound system and a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The Nexon EV also becomes the first Tata product to get 35 connected-car features covering vehicle tracking, vehicle health monitoring and security alerts. As for the colours options, there are three to choose from – white, silver and teal blue.

Bookings for the Nexon EV will officially commence from tomorrow. There are three trim levels – XM, XZ+ and XZ+ Luxury. Expect Tata Motors to price the zero-emissions SUV between Rs 15-17 lakh. While that sounds expensive, do consider that currently the range-topping, conventionally-powered Nexon costs north of Rs 11 lakh before taxes. That figure, when the powertrains become BS6-ready, will considerably shoot up. And, as for the Tigor EV Extended Range, that costs around Rs 13 lakh. The Nexon EV is not a rival for the Hyundai Kona Electric or the upcoming MG ZS EV. Instead, it will compete with the electric Mahindra XUV300, which should launch by mid-2020.