[Aditya]

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, launched two TATA.ev stores, in Gurugram, Haryana. These showrooms exclusively cater to EV customers. While one is located in Sector 14, the other is on Sohna Road. These stores will be open to the public from January 07, 2024, and will be based on the philosophy of ‘Move with Meaning’ and offer a space for the EV community.

In the next 12-18 months, more such showrooms will open in places that the company sees as hubs for EV sales. They will have attached service centres.

Tata Motors claims that it has gathered insights from over 1 lakh Tata EV customers and that EV owners seek a different customer experience. The TATA.ev stores are based on the brand identity’s core values of sustainability, community, and technology. The company plans to create a community space to facilitate customer gatherings/services, sustainability-focused workshops, and events for customers. I got to visit the store in Sector 14, Gurugram.

Huge glass facade lets a lot of light inside:


Big board clearly mentions the facilities available:


A look at the new car delivery area:




Service area is behind the showroom:


DC fast charger in place:


Clear instructions are pasted on the wall:




Multiple AC wall-mounted chargers are installed in the compound:




You'll notice that there's lots of space once you enter the showroom:






Of course, the prime function of a showroom is to sell cars. All the electric offerings from Tata Motors are on display:








Wall-mounted fast charger as well as a 15A socket. Customers are given explanations about charging their EVs here:


Walls feature motivational words. This one talks about the core philosophy of the showroom:


A lot of seating areas for customers:




Plants run along the walls and pillars:






Sofas and chairs of various shapes and sizes:




Books for visitors to read:


Even children can be kept engaged with activities:


Beautiful light stands:

[Aditya]

For sustainability, Tata claims that all the major materials utilized in the store are either recycled or recyclable, with many of them certified with sustainability by global green certifiers.

There was an emphasis on locally sourced materials while building the showroom, reducing reliance on long-distance, high-emission transportation:


Pillars, walls, etc are made from recycled or recyclable materials:




Even the chairs are made from recycled material:


LED lights have sensors and adjust their brightness according to the sunlight entering the showroom:


Cloth bags and other eco-friendly things displayed:




This bin has various compartments for segregating the waste:


Even the restrooms are eco-friendly:


To build a community, Tata has set up Blue Tokai coffee outlets inside the showrooms where people can catch up with fellow EV adopters, and attend events listed in the community calendar.

This is the community area of the showroom:


Blue Tokai coffee outlet:




CCTV cameras are claimed to detect the mood of the customers:


Staircase to reach the upper part of the showroom:


Lots of space to sit here as well:




Map of Gurugram showing various sustainable activities for community members:






Coming to the technology bit, the showroom integrates digital screens that provide testimonials from current owners, customisation options for customers, and personalized welcomes for families arriving to receive the delivery of their EVs. One can even use a digital screen to plan a road trip.

Digital screen providing testimonials from current owners:


Buyers can customise their cars using this screen:


Colours available are displayed here. People can see how they actually look - very important while configuring your car:


This screen helps people plan road trips with their EVs:


It shows charging locations across the country:


Also shows you how much savings you'll make on fuel costs:

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[newenergy]

Amazing coverage. The design language is awesome. I just hope the customer experience is better this time around. Looks like this is in preparation for Curvv EV and Harrier EV.

[Livnletcarsliv]

While this is a good and welcome move by Tata, is this the need of the hour? Is this what the customers/prospects want/expect from Tata?

Today, Tata is selling its largest line-up of cars (including EVs). Are there enough SC's to service these cars?
Tata MUST improve and expand its service center experience rather than sales experience. I still don't understand what the top management at Tata is smoking. Do they understand the ground reality of Tata as a brand in terms of customer experience and ASS capabilities?

For eg - even in a big city like Chennai, I see the SC's are always overwhelmed with cars and the service appointment is always full. Sometimes, a customer has to wait for approx 1-2 weeks for a service appointment (be it any service).

Tata has to address the following on a war foot basis
1. Sales vs Service - The number service centres today cannot manage the sales volume. And it is becoming worse year by year with more new models launched and sales numbers growing. Increase the number of SCs.
2. Sales vs Service - The SCs dont have enough skilled man-power as well as space (floor space, parking space, delivery space, etc) to handle the volume of cars. Significantly increase the man-power (including technical expertise), and space.
3. Because of low man-power (especially qualified ones), there is no proper diagnosis or technical expertise to address or even to understand an issue/compliant which eventually leads to a poor ASS experience.

[r0nit7]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Service area is behind the showroom:

That, unfortunately, is the sad truth of all Tata showrooms

On a serious note, is the service area also similarly styled and with such modern amenities or that's one too many to expect from Tata.

[newenergy]

Originally Posted by r0nit7

That, unfortunately, is the sad truth of all Tata showrooms

On a serious note, is the service area also similarly styled and with such modern amenities or that's one too many to expect from Tata.

More than amenities do they now have EV specific skilled technicians? I just hope they give proper training and be ready before they sell Curvv and Harrier EV.

[where_to_next]

Well it’s Business 101 logic at Tata. Ignore the existing customers and lure the new ones by setting up eye candy traps of fancy stores.

The service experience is really pathetic across various centers in Bangalore. Service centres are overwhelmed with vehicle load and with that they end up delaying appointment for the customers and do a shady job when the vehicle is at service center. It’s an agony every time you take your vehicle for a service.

[SmartCat]

Looks suspicious

Just look at the sheer size of the dealership & also on the interiors - bucketload of ₹₹₹ has been spent on this.

[VALLURIS]

Is this a flagship store for Tata EV's or all EV showrooms coming in future will carry the same design language ?

If TATA decides to continue this design language to all EV stores, it will be a huge cost and sinc ethe sales are not comparable to regular models it will turn out to be a loss on investment.

I have never been to an EV service centre, what are the main differences in the service bays to handle EV's.

[The Rationalist]

TATA service may be average, but one can't take away anything from them for setting up such a modern sales outlet. It definitely is a welcome change. One has to start from somewhere! With more sales happening new players will enter their network and will improve the service for sure. In Kerala Nippon group has set up service centres and the reviews look promising.

[K_Drive]

Don’t you think it is a bit harsh to blame Tata for coming up such a well designed and thoughtful EV specific showroom and service centre? Obviously other general service centres are overwhelmed but in a EV specific, the service technician needs to concentrate only on EV cars. So these centres will be less crowded and technicians will eventually get more expertise in EV technology. Win-win situation for customers and service centres.

[Kkumar]

Real customer satisfaction comes post sales and if Tata doesn’t address this Achilles heel, in the long run they are heading for big trouble. Wearing a mask is not the solution and this looks like a fancy mask. A well trained service team will do greater benefits and Tata should concentrate on that. Hope that better sense prevails in Tata Motors.

[abaliga]

Sales and service needs a shot in the arm for sure, however, their priority should be delivering products without niggles. Fit, finish and software issues need to be addressed at the earliest, after manufacturing cars for decades, it is simply unacceptable to have widespread niggles across their lineup, I am seeing so many new manufacturers from China doing so well on the fit and finish front, not able to understand why Tata is not able to get it right.

I genuinely want them to be an engineering powerhouse, but they dont seem to be anywhere close, infact some of their products have taken a turn for the worse, possibly because of rushed manufacturing to cater to the demand.

[M_Poweredd_]

They should add a game room so that customers can pass their time maybe some consoles and boardgames would do the job.