Tata Tiago EV BaaS Explained: Price, Payment Plan

When it comes to electric cars, the Tata Tiago EV has been a tremendous success in the Indian market. While the Indian electric hatchback has proven itself as an affordable and practical electric car, Tata has made it even more affordable by making it available with the BaaS scheme. Read on to learn about the price and payment details of the Tata Tiago EV BaaS.

What is BaaS?

BaaS, aka battery as a service, is a battery rental setup in which the battery’s cost is not included in the cost of the electric car that it powers. With BaaS, the buyer buys the electric vehicle independent of its battery, and pays to use its battery. Moreover, the service provider maintains the battery and replaces it if required.

Therefore, with BaaS, you don’t need to buy the battery, which is the most expensive part of a vehicle. Instead, you use it as a service. Hence the name – Battery as a Service. The BaaS substantially drops an electric vehicle’s ex-showroom price, thanks to the exclusion of the battery.

As of now, BaaS has two arrangements. In the first one, you can swap a discharged battery with a fully charged one at a swapping station. However, this setup is mostly used for commercial electric vehicles, such as commercial fleets, delivery startups, and gig workers. The other setup is paying a monthly fee to the service provider to use the battery.

Tata Tiago EV BaaS Prices

So far, Tata has revealed the battery subscription price for the base Smart variant only. With BaaS, the Tata Tiago EV Smart costs Rs. 4.69 lakh + Rs. 2.6/km.

Now, the Tata Tiago EV BaaS scheme should prove economical for only a specific type of user. You see, by buying a Tiago EV with BaaS, you save Rs. 2.30 lakh on the upfront cost. Now, considering the Rs. 2.6 as per kilometre charge, for Rs. 2.30 lakh, you can drive about 88,000 km. Generally, urban users drive around 10,000 km in a year, and to cover 88,00 km, it would take them 7 to 9 years. Most car owners sell their cars before then. For such users, the Tiago EV BaaS is substantially beneficial.

All the same, while Tata has not announced any minimum monthly fee for the Tata Tiago EV BaaS, they are expected to do so. Most BaaS service providers charge a minimum monthly fee for a set number of kilometres per month. For example, reportedly, for the Tata Punch EV, Tata charges a minimum monthly fee for 1,800 km. So, if there is a minimum monthly fee for at least 1,500 km for the Tiago EV, Tata will charge Rs. 3,900 monthly. Moreover, considering 1,500 km monthly, you need to drive at least 50 km every single day of a 30-day month to make the per-kilometre cost profitable for you.

Another key point to note is that the per-kilometre charge does not include RTO tax, Insurance, TCS, or other statutory taxes. You will have to pay taxes on the full vehicle value because the battery is part of your vehicle.

Value Additions

The Tata Tiago EV comes with the following benefits:

• Lifetime warranty on the battery pack for the first owner. However, if the car is resold, the warranty is reduced to 8 years / 1,60,000 km for the second owner. Note that the 8 years / 1,60,000 km is calculated from the day the vehicle was bought as a brand-new model.
• The standard vehicle warranty – 3 years or 1,25,000 km (whichever is earlier).
• Assured buyback value: 60 percent of the car’s value after 3-years, or 40 percent of the car’s value after 5-years. The assured buyback is available on a payment basis with BaaS.
•  A free 3.3 kW charger, while a 7.2 kW wall box AC fast charger is available at an additional cost.

Final Thoughts

The Tata Tiago EV offers a great value-for-money package, considering its driving range, ride comfort, and all other facets. Moreover, buying a Tiago EV with BaaS can be quite a financially beneficial decision. However, to make the Tiago EV BaaS beneficial for you, you need to plan your driving needs and check all the terms and conditions of the service provider.

FAQ