Tata Motors rolled out the 2,00,000th unit of the Punch sub-compact SUV from its Pune plant. The 2,00,000 units production milestone comes just 20 months after the carmaker launched the Punch in October 2021.
- Tata Punch has averaged monthly sales of 11,249 units
- Punch EV expected to launch by October 2023
From launch through to March 2023, the Punch has clocked total wholesales of 1,86,535 units in the domestic market. Adding April 2023’s estimated wholesales of 10,930 units takes the number to 1,97,465 units, which is just 2,535 units shy of the 2,00,000 sales milestone.
Considering that the Punch has averaged monthly sales of 11,249 units in the January-April 2023 period, the popular sub-compact SUV should surpass the 2,00,000 sales mark within the first fortnight of May 2023.
The Punch’s financial year 2023 wholesales of 1,33,819 units was a robust 153 percent year-on-year growth (FY2022: 52,716), powering the Punch to fourth rank in India’s Top 30 utility vehicles last fiscal, one rank above its calender year 2022 performance of 1,29,895 units.
The Tata Punch has set a new benchmark in the Indian automotive industry by becoming the first SUV in India to achieve the fastest 1,00,000 production milestone in a span of just 10 months. What has helped power demand is the combination of a snazzy design and best-in-class 5-star safety. Four days before its launch, on October 14, 2021, the Tata Punch aced the Global NCAP crash test with a 5-star rating (under the previous GNCAP protocol).
Tata Punch CNG and EV in the pipeline
Production and sales of the Punch should get new traction when Tata Motors launches the CNG and EV versions. The carmaker unveiled the Punch CNG at Auto Expo 2023 in January, making it the fourth model (after the Tigor, Tiago and Altroz) in Tata’s line-up to get a factory-fitted CNG kit.
The CNG version of the Punch will be powered by a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. This engine develops 86hp and 113Nm of torque in petrol mode, and in CNG mode, it produces 77hp and 97Nm of peak torque. The Punch will also get Tata’s new dual-cylinder technology for the CNG tanks.
An electric version of the Punch has also been spotted testing recently. The Punch EV will get disc brakes on all four wheels, which is expected to trickle down to the ICE-powered Punch as well in the future. Inside, the Punch EV can be seen with a drive selector and electronic parking from the Nexon EV Max along with the current 7.0-inch touchscreen. The Punch EV is expected to debut by October 2023, during the festive season.
Also see:
Tata Nexon tops SUV charts, Maruti Eeco bestselling MPV in FY2023
Tata Nexon facelift interior spied with 10.25 inch touchscreen