This is a big chink in the armour of the Tata Safari, especially considering the SUV goes up against the Mahindra XUV700.
Now, a picture of Tata Safari sporting green number plates has surfaced online, leaving automotive enthusiasts across the country scratching their heads since the green number plates are used by electric vehicles in the country.
However, it gets more puzzling as the green number plates indicate that the Tata Safari in the picture is an electric vehicle. This is because the Tata Safari pictured with the green number plates confirm that the electric SUV is not a test mule.
To get the green number plate with white font, the vehicle must be a finished product and an electric private vehicle. This puzzling effect quickly turns into suspicion realising that Tata Motors never launched the electric version of the Tata Safari anywhere in the world.
So, there are two logical explanations for this. Either the Tata Safari with the green number plates is a prank on automotive enthusiasts in the country or the electric SUV is the work of a third-party company which developed an EV kit for the Tata Safari SUV.
Though the latter seems to be a very complex task as EV conversion at this level requires top-shelf skills and technical know-how. Apart from that, it will also require many custom designs as well. The Tata Safari SUV in the picture also seems to be the top-end 'XZA+' variant.
Coming back to the EV conversion, as mentioned the conversion is not an easy task and we expect the electric range of the 3-row SUV to be anywhere around 300-400km per full charge.
If the Tata Safari sporting the green number plate is developed by any EV conversion company, the electric SUV is most likely to be a demo version of the SUV specially built for investors, bankers or government officials.
Speaking about the Tata Safari, it is the 3-row erosion of the Tata Harrier and SUV has been well-received by Indian customers.
Powering the new Tata Safari is a 2.0-litre, turbocharged, 4-cylinder, Kryotec diesel engine with 167.67bhp of peak power at 3,750rpm and 350Nm of peak torque at 1,750rpm.
Moreover, this engine comes with a choice of either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Apart from that, the official ARAI, the fuel-efficiency figure for the Safari stands at 16.14 km/l for both automatic and manual transmission variants.
Prices for the Tata Safari Kaziranga edition start from Rs 15.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base 'XE' variant and Rs 23.45 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the XZA+ 6S Gold with automatic transmission.
Thoughts About Tata Safari 'EV'
The electric Tata Safari would be a great vehicle for politicians and government officials in India as it would promote the use of EVs in India by a considerable margin.