Real world charging times tested: Entry level EVs

We teamed up with Zeon Charging, one of India’s leading providers, and analysed charging cycles across 10 to 50 sessions per EV, factoring in different times of day, locations and weather conditions. It should also be noted that all sessions were conducted on DC fast chargers capable of delivering speeds well above the vehicle’s maximum charging rate.

Here, we have put 3 entry-level EVs – the Tata Tiago EV, Tigor EV and Punch EV – through meticulous tests to find out how quickly their respective batteries charge and how far these cars could go in the real world.

Tata Tiago EV MR

Rs 7.99 lakh-8.99 lakh

The Tata Tiago EV Medium Range version charges at the slowest rate among the EVs tested – 16kW. Its charging graph remains relatively flat up to 79 percent State of Charge (SoC), after which the speed drops to around 11kW.

Tata Tiago EV LR

Rs 10.14 lakh-11.14 lakh

The Tata Tiago EV Long Range (LR) version charges faster than the MR, averaging 15kW. Significantly, it maintains this rate and only begins to decline beyond 91 percent SoC. Based on our real world Tiago EV range test, where it posted an efficiency of 7.77km/kWh, you would be able to get about 110km in the 45 minutes the 24kWh battery takes to charge from 20-80 percent.

Tata Tigor EV 

Rs 12.49 lakh-13.75 lakh

Like the Tiago EV, this electric sedan displays a flat charging curve, but beyond 84 percent, the Tata Tigor EV's charging speed drops steeply from 20kW to around 5kW. In our Tigor EV real world range test, we recorded a battery efficiency of 7.69km per kWh, which means 50 minutes of DC fast charging should add about 135km of range.  

Tata Punch EV LR

Rs 12.84 lakh-14.44 lakh

The Punch EV, like the first-gen Nexon EV, uses a 320V architecture but offers much higher charging speeds, averaging 27kW up to 87 percent SoC. With an average tested battery efficiency of 6.55km/kWh, 49 minutes of DC fast charging should net you about 150km of range. 

All prices, ex-showroom, India.