MG battery rental blueprint inspires Maruti, Tata

Toyota, VinFast also to offer plan, which lowers costs

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

THIS WEEK, THE electric vehicle (EV) market witnessed a big shift as India's two largest carmakers embraced the battery-as-a-service (BaaS) model. Following Maruti Suzuki's entry with the eVitara on Tuesday, Tata Motors launched the new Punch EV on Friday with a battery rental scheme.

The entry-level model of the eVitara costs ₹15.99 lakh upfront. But under BaaS, the price drops to just ₹10.99 lakh, plus running cost of ₹3.99 per km. The telematics system of the eVitara will track the number of kilometres driven, and the car owner will be billed each month based on that usage. If the car is driven, let's say, 1,000 km, the BaaS bill will be ₹3,990.