NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to Tata Motors by directing a stay against the delisting of the company’s Nexon EV model from the Delhi government’s list of vehicles eligible for EV subsidies.
The High Court has granted time to the Delhi government to file a counter affidavit in the matter. The court’s decision comes as a huge relief for Tata Motors since the Delhi state government had, on March 1, delisted Tata Nexon’s electric model from its electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme.
The government had said it had done so after complaints over the model’s “sub-standard” performance. According to the order issued by Delhi’s Transport Department to Tata Motors, the EV model ‘Tata Nexon EV model XZ+’ could not provide the promised specified range of 312 km in a single charge, adding that a commuter had complained that the EV had never provided a range of more than 200 km.
Launched in January 2020 and priced at Rs 14-16.4 lakh, the Nexon EV is now India’s largest selling electric four-wheeler. Its success is not only attributed to competitive cost but also to the huge subsidy it receives under various EV policies that goes up to Rs 3 lakh per vehicle.
Responding to the Delhi government’s action, Tata Motors had said that the range at single full charge (312 km) “is basis the certification received from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)... As with conventional vehicles, the actual range achieved in EVs is dependent on AC usage, individual driving style and the actual conditions in which the vehicle is driven”.