Earth Day 2022: Top Upcoming EVs In India

Electric vehicles or EVs are going to take over the mobility space, and as much as we love internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, there is no denying this fact. Globally, as well as in India, the EV wave is getting stronger, and we have already seen several electric vehicles that have proven to be at par, if not better, than their ICE counterparts. The wave is just going to get bigger in 2022, and today, as the world celebrates Earth Day, we have listed down some of the highly anticipated EVs that are going to be launched in India this year.

BMW i4

The BMW i4 electric sedan will be the third electric vehicle from the BMW Group India, including the recently launched MINI Electric and the iX SUV that went on sale towards the end of 2021. More importantly, it will be the first electric sedan in the luxury car space in India. The i4 comes with an 81.5 kWh battery pack that powers the electric motor to produce 330 bhp and 430 Nm of peak torque. BMW claims the i4 can offer a range of 483 km on a single charge according to the WLTP cycle. The electric sedan is set to make its India debut on April 28, while the market launch is slated to take place in May or June 2022.

Kia EV6

Kia India too is gearing up to launch its first EV, and it is coming in with a big one – the Kia EV6 crossover. In fact, we were the first to tell you that the electric crossover will be launched in India this year. We were also the first ones to bring you an exclusive review of the electric crossover, which comes with a dual e-AWD system paired with a 77.4 kWh battery that delivers 320 bhp and 605 Nm of peak torque. With this, the Kia EV6 electric crossover promises a range of about 425 km, on a single charge.

Also Read: Exclusive: Kia EV6 Review

Kia India will open the pre-bookings for the electric flagship on May 26, with deliveries to start soon. The new EV6 will come to our shores as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) and will get a price tag of over ₹ 50 lakh. Because it’s a CBU model, the EV6 will also be available in limited numbers. Only 100 units have been allocated for the first year.

Also Read: Exclusive: Hyundai IONIQ 5 & Kia EV6 Launch Timelines: EV Flagships Ready For India

Hyundai IONIQ 5

Hyundai too is gearing up to launch its second EV in India, and it is the EV6’s counterpart, the Hyundai IONIQ 5. The electric crossover from Hyundai will arrive at a later date, compared to the EV6, sometime around late October 2022. And yes, we were the first one to tell you that as well. Interestingly, unlike Kia, Hyundai will locally assemble the IONIQ 5 at its Chennai plant, which will make it considerably cheaper than the EV6. We expect a price point of ₹ 35-40 lakh.

Also Read: Exclusive: Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV Review

Also Read: Hyundai IONIQ 5 Wins Big At 2022 World Car Awards

The EV comes with two battery pack options, either 58 kWh or 72.6 kWh, and two electric motor layouts, either with a single motor attached to the rear axle or a dual motor variant, attached to the front and rear axles respectively. The former also comes paired with an electric all-wheel drive (AWD) system and can produce a combined power output of 225kW (301 bhp) and 605 Nm of torque. The SUV comes with a top driving range of up to 481 km and a top speed of 185 kmph. The IONIQ 5 also saw triple win at the 2022 World Car Awards, taking home the EV or the Year, Design of the Year, and World Car of the Year titles.

Volvo XC40 Recharge

The Volvo XC40 Recharge will be the first electric vehicle from the brand in India, and we have already driven it. You can find the detailed India review of the XC40 Recharge on the carandbike website. The SUV will come to India as a completely built unit (CBU) and while pre-bookings will open in June, deliveries are expected to begin by October this year. We expect it to be priced around ₹ 75 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

Also Read: Volvo XC40 Recharge Review: Taking Charge

Like the regular XC40, the XC40 Recharge is also built on the company’s Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform. The electric SUV comes with a dual-motor powertrain with 150 kW electric motors on each axle that converts to 402 bhp and 660 Nm of peak torque. The electric motors are powered by a 78 kWh battery pack that offers an approximate range of up to 418 km. It can achieve 0-100 kmph in 4.9 seconds.

Also Read: 2022 World Car Awards: Mercedes-Benz EQS Wins Luxury Car Of The Year

Mercedes-Benz EQS

The Mercedes-Benz EQS electric sedan is also coming to our shores this year, and it will be the Stuttgart-based carmaker’s flagship EV in India. Based on the Mercedes-Benz EVA platform, the luxury electric sedan will be available in two trims – EQS 450+ and EQS 580 4MATIC. The EQS 450+ is the base variant that features a single electric motor on the rear axle and puts out 328 bhp and 568 Nm of peak torque. The EQS 580 4MATIC is an all-wheel-drive (AWD) range-topping trim that gets an electric motor on both front and rear axles. Total output in combination here is 516 bhp and it belts out a hefty 855 Nm of peak torque, good for a 0-100 kmph sprint in just 4.1 seconds. The EQS sedan comes with a 107.8 kWh Lithium-Ion battery, promising up to 770 km WLTP cycle certified drive range on a full charge. The car comes with a standard onboard charger of 11 kW with an optional 22 kW charger.

Also Read: Tata Nexon EV Sales Breach 13,500 Mark In India

Tata Nexon Long Range

Coming to mass-market EVs, Tata Motors is also expected to launch a long range version of its top-selling electric vehicle, the Nexon EV. The Nexon EV is right now the best-selling electric passenger car in the country, and the long-range version is expected to boost sales even further, addressing the range anxiety among consumers. Technical details are unknown at the moment, however, it has been reported that the EV will get a bigger 40 kWh battery pack instead of the existing 30.3 kWh unit, which would effectively offer a range of over 400 km on a single charge. We would expect the long-range Nexon EV to go on sale in India in the second half of 2022.

Also Read: Tata Altroz EV India Launch Delayed Due To Changing Customer Expectations: Tata Motors

Tata Altroz EV

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Another long-awaited EV from Tata Motors has been the Altroz EV . While the car was expected to be launched in 2021, challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to postpone the launch. Additionally, Tata says that since it first revealed the Altroz EV concept, the EV landscape has changed and so has customer expectations, which has prompted the company to change its game plan for the electric premium hatchback. However, we believe 2022 could be the year when Tata finally launches the Altroz EV. The EV is built on the all-new Agile Light Flexible Advanced (ALFA) platform and will employ the company’s Ziptron powertrain technology.

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