How Tata packaged the Altroz EV’s battery

With the relative success of the Nexon EV, and the push to have more electric cars  in the range, in coming months (coronavirus delays permitting), Tata will launch it’s second mass-market EV. Targeted at regular car buyers and based on the Altroz hatchback, this will  be the first EV off it’s new ALFA platform. Unlike the Nexon SUV, which has plenty of ground clearance, packaging of the Altroz EV battery under the floor was a challenge.

A design model was put together by the engineering team, but head of design Pratap Bose wasn’t happy with the increase in the ride height. "The first time I saw it, the stance was more crossover than hatchback, it was almost an SUV." This meant there would have to be some repackaging. So Tata took up the floor a bit and took some of the battery into what would have been the cabin. It then raised the ride height marginally to accommodate some more of the battery," Bose says. "The floor you see now is what you will get in the final car." Come launch time, though, the model may even get larger wheels and tyres to help give it even more of a lift. When you go from the back seat of an Altorz to an Altroz EV, you notice that the floor has been raised. You sit a bit lower in the back seat of the EV because the ‘h’ (or hip point) is lower.

There’s no compromise in the car’s look or in the apparent ride height; and Tata has avoided making it look like a hatch on stilts. It’s even built in some battery protection. The question is, how much will it impact ride and will it achieve a happy ride-handling balance? While the launch has been delayed, when it does arrive, the Altroz EV is expected sport a price tag between  Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh.

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