A spy shot of an electrified Tata Nexon has popped up
online. In all likeliness, this is the Tata Nexon mild-hybrid that has been in
the rumour mill since October last year. The Tata Nexon and Tata Altroz
both are said to come with a mild-hybrid system, and that should happen only
after they become BS-VI compliant by March 2019. The person who snapped the
mild-hybrid variant of the Tata Nexon has said that this unit was manufactured
under a test production run.
No details about Tata Motor’s first-ever mild-hybrid
system are available yet. However, the company’s European technical centre was
working on two 48-volt systems codenamed ‘P0’ and ‘P2’ in the past, and maybe
one of them is going to be put to use in the aforementioned sub-compact models.
Tata Motors has said that to meet the next phase of CAFE, even the Harrier
could get a hybrid variant.
The launch of the petrol-electric mild-hybrid
variant won’t lead to discontinuation of the 1.5-litre Revotorq engine. Reports
are rife that this diesel engine is being upgraded for BS-VI emission norms,
and that it will be offered even in the Altroz.
Besides mild-hybrids, Tata Motors is actively
working on expanding its EV portfolio. The PV line-up currently includes the
Tiago EV and Tigor EV, but only the latter has been commercialised so far, that
too only for government and fleet owners. The range will be expanded with the
Altroz EV and the battery-powered variant of the production version of the H2X
Concept (codename: X445) in the mid-term future.
