Tata Tigor EV Petrol Vs Electric Mileage Running Cost Which Is Better

06 September 2021
By Mahesh Yadav
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If you’re wondering whether you should buy the Tata Tigor petrol automatic or the new Tigor EV then this article will help you come to a conclusion. Here, we’ll take the latest ex-showroom prices of the Tigor petrol automatic and Tigor EV and look at the price difference. Based on the current petrol and approximate electric prices, we’ll calculate the kilometres you need to drive the car to recover the higher upfront cost. This should help you decide which engine option of the Tigor EV will work best for you and save you money in the long run. Let’s start with the difference in their ex-showroom prices.

Tata Tigor Petrol Vs Electric - Price Comparison

Let’s look at the latest ex-showroom prices of the Tata Tigor petrol and electric to see what extra cost you’re paying for the Tigor electric over the Tigor petrol.

TATA TIGOR PETROL VS TIGOR EV PRICES EX-SHOWROOM DELHI (SEPTEMBER 2021)
Variants	Petrol	Difference	Electric
XM Automatic	Rs. 6,79,900	Rs. 5,69,100	Rs. 12,49,000
XZ Plus Automatic	Rs. 7,81,900	Rs. 5,17,100	Rs. 12,99,000

With the Tigor automatic, the ex-showroom price for the Tigor EV is Rs. 5.17 lakh to Rs. 5.69 lakh higher than the Tigor petrol automatic.

Tata Tigor Petrol Vs EV - Running Cost Calculation - September 2021

Now, let’s compare the per kilometre fuel cost you’ll incur with both the engine options. For this, we’ll use the latest petrol and prices in Delhi and the official mileage figures as a baseline. For the electricity cost, we’re using Rs. 9.0/kWh as a baseline for electric cost. This is to accommodate the drastically different electricity prices, which from state to state.

To calculate the efficiency of the Tigor EV, we’re simply dividing the advertised range by the battery capacity of the car. So, a 306km range from a 26kWh battery pack gives us a figure of 11.77kmpu. If you are expecting only 250km of real-world range from the car, then the effective efficiency figure will become 9.61kmpu.

Note: kmpu = kilometres per unit of electricity or kilometres the car is covering for every kWh of electricity

Tata Tigor EV Cost Per KM (September 2021)
	Petrol	Difference	Electric
Fuel Price Delhi	Rs. 102/litre	Rs. 93	Rs. 9/unit
Automatic Mileage	19.28kmpl	7.51	11.77kmpu
Automatic Cost Per km	Rs. 5.29/km	Rs. 4.53/km	Rs. 0.76/km

With the Tigor EV, you will save Rs. 4.53/km compared to the petrol automatic if you’re paying Rs. 9.0 for every unit of electricity.

Assuming that electricity is cheap in your city and you pay only Rs. 7.0 per unit, the Tigor EV will save you about Rs. 4.7/km. Refer to the following table.

Tata Tigor Cost Per KM (September 2021)
	Petrol	Difference	Electric
Fuel Price Delhi	Rs. 102/litre	Rs. 95	Rs. 7/unit
Automatic Mileage	19.28kmpl	7.51	11.77kmpU
Automatic Cost Per KM	Rs. 5.29/km	Rs. 4.7/km	Rs. 0.59/km

These numbers are based on the official ARAI efficiency. If you take a realistic 16kmpl efficiency from the Tigor petrol automatic and a range of 250km from the Tigor EV, then the realistic efficiency of the Tigor electric comes to around 9.61kmpu. With such figures, you can expect to save up to 5.65km with electricity price at Rs. 7.0/unit.

Tata Tigor Cost Per KM (September 2021)
	Petrol	Difference	Electric
Fuel Price Delhi	Rs. 102/litre	Rs. 95	Rs. 7/unit
Automatic Mileage	16kmpl	6.39	9.61kmpu
Automatic Cost Per KM	Rs. 6.38/km	Rs. 5.65/km	Rs. 0.73/km

Kilometres To Breakeven With Tata Tigor Electric

Tata Tigor Petrol Vs Electric KM to Recover (September 2021)
Variants	KM to Recover
XM Automatic	1,25,746
XZ Plus Automatic	1,14,256

With the automatic, depending on the variant, you’ll have to cover 1.14 lakh to 1.26 lakh km with the Tigor electric to recover the extra price you pay upfront over the Tigor petrol. Even if you assume a cheaper electricity cost of Rs. 7/unit, it still takes you more than 1.1 lakh to break even.

Please note that these calculations are based on the official ARAI tested efficiency figures. We tried calculating the same with the assumption of getting only 16kmpl of mileage from the Tigor petrol and 250km of range from the Tigor EV. Still, the figures hovered around the six-figure (1 lakh) kilometre mark - EVEN when we assumed a lower Rs. 7.0/unit of electricity cost. If you charge at a public charging station, then you’ll have to drive even more to recover the higher upfront cost.

Should You Buy Tata Tigor Petrol Or Electric?

No matter how we look at it and how favourable the situation is for the Tigor EV, the km-to-breakeven figure is just not budging much from the 1 lakh mark. You’ll have to drive the Tata Tigor electric at least 1.0 to 1.25 lakh km just to recover the higher upfront cost you’re paying. For lower running costs, you can also consider a CNG car, which costs a lot less and has a much lower km-to-breakeven figure of around 50,000km. It also has a comparable range of about 200km per full cylinder of CNG.

Note that, we’re not factoring in 2 major variables - registration cost and maintenance. The Tigor EV will have much lower registration fees in many states. It’ll also cost a fair bit less to maintain as the Tigor EV doesn’t have to replace engine oil, oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, and may more consumables like a petrol or diesel car. At the same time, you’re also paying a higher cost for a car, which you can’t take on a road trip without a detailed plan to charge the car along the way.

On the flip side, there are also opportunity costs associated with buying the more expensive car and paying upfront. If you’re buying the car on loan, then you should also factor in the interest you’ll incur during the ownership on the higher price as a cost applicable for the Tigor EV.