Tata Nexon: Why should you opt for a petrol or diesel variant instead of an EV

The Tata Nexon has been one of the most popular cars in its segment in India. The Nexon is not only available in Petrol or Diesel variants but also as an EV. While the ICE or Internal Combustion Engine (Petrol/ Diesel) variants of Nexon is widely accepted for abilities, the Nexon EV is also dominating the electric market in India. However, if you are planning for a Nexon, the maintenance cost is one of the major factors that makes you choose between an ICE variant or an electric one. Recently, a Tata Nexon EV user has mentioned the price of its battery pack and we are left wondering about its maintenance cost.

Recently, a Tata Nexon EV owner, Doddappa S Nisty, through his Facebook post has shared vital information about the cost of the car’s battery pack. When Nisty inquired about the Tata Nexon battery pack at the service centre, he was told that it would cost Rs 7 lakhs. Thank God, Nisty did not have to spend a penny to change a battery pack as his vehicle was under 8-year or 1.6 lakh km warranty coverage. Well, paying Rs 7 lakh for a battery pack seems to be a big deal for a middle-class family in India.

Details about the incident

Doddappa S Nisty, posted about the incident on the Nexon EV group Karnataka on Facebook. While posting this to Facebook he had been using the Nexon EV for 2 years and had covered 68,000 km. However, he observed that the range of his car reduced drastically and stalling issue was observed at 15% charge. He took his EV to the service centre and got it replaced for free.

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned incident, we have done a detailed analysis on the running cost (expenses on fuel and charging) of a Tata Nexon EV and an ICE (Petrol/ Diesel) version.

Comparative analysis of Petrol/ Diesel vs Electric

Tata Nexon EV

Tata claims that the range of the Nexon EV is 312 km (ARAI tested range). However, the real-world range is less than 250 km. Let us consider that an avg. user gets a range of 200 km. We, expect a user to charge for 340 times (might be more) during a period of 68,000km. A full range charge (0-100 per cent) consumes 30 units of electricity (according to users on a regular charger). Considering the standard rate of electricity to be at Rs 7 per unit, the cost of 1 full charge is Rs 210. Hence, the total cost incurred for covering 68,000 km is Rs 71,400. In case you are running out of your warranty period, your overall maintenance cost for the said distance will be approx. Rs 7,71,400 (Rs 71,400 + Rs 7,00,000).

Tata Nexon Petrol/ Diesel

The Nexon Petrol engine variant delivers an avg mileage of 16kmpl. For running 68,000km, you will roughly consume 4250 litres of petrol. Considering that the avg cost of petrol is Rs 100, you will have to spend almost Rs 4,25,000.

On the other hand, the Nexon Diesel engine variant delivers an avg mileage of 20kmpl. For running 68,000km, you will roughly consume 3400 litres of petrol. Considering that the avg cost of diesel is Rs 90, you will have to spend almost Rs 3,06,000.

Verdict

Unless and until you run out of warranty for your Nexon EV (1.6 lakh kms/8 years) its running charges are lower than its ICE (Petrol/ Diesel) counterparts. Considering that a user changes the battery of his Nexon EV at an interval of 70,000 to 75,000kms, he can still get 2 battery packs for free. However, if the battery life is more than 80,000 kms, you get only 1 battery pack for free. The third battery pack will cost you Rs 7,00,000. Running the Nexon EV in a long run (after 4-5 years) might be a costly affair for the users (as they might run out of warranty). Even if a user is planning to sell the Nexon EV, the chances of making profit from it, is very slim.

Note: The above mentioned article is based on many hypothetical conditions (which might turn out to be true). There are chances that you might get a different result than those claimed in the article. By means of this article we don’t persuade you to go for ICE variants instead of EVs. That should be your absolute choice.

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