Man Buys Tata Punch.EV, Resale Value Goes Down By Rs 5.70 Lakh In 7 Months
Electric vehicles have been gaining ground in India. These, in general, have lower resale value than conventional petrol and diesel counterparts. A recent video on Instagram claims to show how a Tata Punch.EV owner ended up losing Rs 5.70 lakh in depreciation, in just seven months.
This short-form video was shared by Jerin TKB (who goes by the name Motoz_maniac on Instagram). He starts by detailing the car. It is a seven-month old Tata Punch EV Adventure LR that had run just over 27,600 km. Back when this owner bought it, this particular variant had an on-road price of Rs 13.70 lakh in Kerala.
After Tata Motors launched the facelifted Punch.EV, this owner took his vehicle to a nearby dealer to get an idea of its resale value. He says that if he got a ‘fair price’ for the vehicle, he would have traded it in for the new Punch.EV.
The facelift comes with a larger battery pack (40kWh) that supports faster charging and delivers more range (real world range of around 355 km per charge). Most importantly, Tata is offering lifetime warranty on the larger battery. These seem to have lured this owner, eventually making him consider an exchange.
The dealer, according to the owner, quoted Rs 8 lakh for his electric SUV! This would imply a reduction of Rs 5.70 lakh in just seven months- shocking for any vehicle owner. This owner had to soon give up the idea of exchanging his car. He even tries to explain why the resale value dipped so much. Jerin thinks it is the drop in prices of the new model that caused the resale value to fall. He seems to have a point there, as some variants of the facelift are now cheaper by Rs 1.85 lakh. In that case, the resale value of the previous model will naturally be affected.
It should also be mentioned that the person in this video doesn’t mention the name of the dealership that evaluated the vehicle, nor does he present a written quotation or evidence for the claim. We don’t know if a different dealer would come up with a different price. Local demand and the variations in it can also sometimes shape a car’s resale value. This video doesn’t mention any of these factors.
EVs usually post higher depreciation than internal combustion models. Even the brand-new Punch EV will likely lose its value faster than the internal combustion Punch. Factors such as battery health deterioration and lack of clarity of previous usage often make used buy
In this case, however, the actual reasons may be slightly different. Tata Motors has packaged the new Punch.EV so well that it now makes for significantly better proposition than the vehicle it replaced- the one in this case.
The pre-facelift Punch.EV seen in this video had a 35kWh battery pack offering MIDC range of 421 km. It used cylindrical cells. The 40 kWh unit is much more advanced and uses prismatic cells. It has a certified full charge range of 468km. This has, in a way, left the pre-facelift obsolete, translating to a direct value drain for the old model.
Another possible reason is the trim. The person here owns the mid-spec Adventure variant. A buyers in the pre-owned EV market would naturally pick the highest variant possible, unless he is given a steal deal. And finally, the price factor. The top-spec Empowered Plus variant now has an on-road price of Rs 13.93 lakh in Kerala. The Empowered variant costs Rs 13.70 lakh. Given these, it is obvious that a pre-owned Adventure LR variant would lose much of its value.