Tata Motors has taken another step towards solidifying its leadership in India’s fast-evolving electric vehicle (EV) market with the unveiling of its first dedicated EV architecture, dubbed ‘acti.ev’. This new platform, pronounced ‘active’, is making its debut with the Punch EV, which is set to be launched in the coming weeks. It will play a pivotal role in Tata’s future EV strategy, as it is primed to underpin all upcoming mass-market EV offerings from the Indian carmaker. These will include the Curvv, Sierra and Harrier EVs, and at least five acti.ev-based models will be launched by 2025. Given how different it is from its existing combustion engine platforms, Tata has installed a different production line for acti.ev models at its manufacturing facility in Pune, confirmed Anand Kulkarni, Chief Products Officer, Head of HV Programs and Customer Service, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd in an interaction with carandbike.
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The acti.ev architecture is a 400-volt platform, as opposed to the 800-volt Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) that will be used for Tata’s upcoming ‘Avinya’ series of premium EVs. Acti.ev, being a born-electric platform, brings improvements in weight saving, packaging and space efficiency. Tata claims a 10 per cent increase in battery energy density, and the flat floor – devoid of a transmission tunnel – will translate into enhanced interior space, as well as the creation of a front trunk.
The new platform enables the fitment of orthogonal battery packs resulting in higher volumetric efficiency and range.
This platform can accommodate a variety of body styles, for vehicles varying in size from as small as 3.8 metres in length to as big as 4.6 metres in length, with a provision to increase the width by up to 250 mm for the largest vehicle on this architecture. It can also accommodate multiple motor configurations and different drive layouts, including front-, rear- and all-wheel drive. Power outputs can range from 60 to 170 kW, depending on the application.
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EVs based on acti.ev can be rolled out with front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive options.
EVs based on the acti.ev platform will be equipped with orthogonal battery packs, and will have a range of anywhere between 300 to 600 kilometres. Tata says the platform is cell type and chemistry-agnostic, and it can easily accept different cells with higher energy density going forward. Acti.ev will also enable onboard AC fast-charging of up to 11 kW, and DC fast-charging of up to 150 kW, which will help replenish 100 km of range in just 10 minutes, as per Tata. The platform also has bi-directional charging capability, so EVs based on this architecture will have vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-load (V2L) abilities as well.
Acti.ev is designed to secure a five-star Global NCAP as well as Bharat NCAP safety rating, and can be equipped with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), with a provision to upgrade to a higher level of ADAS in the future. The platform utilises the 5G-ready Qualcomm Snapdragon digital chassis for its electrical architecture, which will enable over-the-air updates and a third-party app suite.
