Earlier in June, the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) of Kerala put an order for 65 units of the Nexon EV. These electric SUVs will be used along with road discipline by 65 squads of the Safe Kerala project, which enforces the rules and regulations on motor vehicles.
Whether these EVs have any additional equipment over the regular Nexon EV is not clear. Most MVD vehicles are fitted with a dedicated radio, strobes, cameras, and radar speed sensors, and it is highly likely that these systems will also have the same. However, from the pictures alone, it is difficult to work out any additional information on the equipment list.
Essentially, it is an all-electric variant of the compact Nexon SUV that uses the Ziptron electrical architecture of the brand. The Nexon EV uses an electric motor that produces torque of 129hp and 245Nm, and is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack of 30.2kWh that makes 312 km of ARAI-certified range. Tata is selling the Nexon EV back to the battery with an 8 year/1,60,000 km warranty.
Nevertheless, even vehicles like Hyundai Kona EV are getting additional orders from the ESSL with more electric vehicles coming in. The ESSL will maintain the procured vehicles for the MVD and will also install electric charging stations at all offices where these Nexon EVs will be stationed.
Currently the Tata Nexon EV is available in three variants with prices ranging from Rs 13.99-15.99 lakh. The version of the EV ordered by the MDV of Kerala has not been disclosed.