Full Refund With Interest: Consumer Court Raps Tata Motors Over Nexon EV's 'False Mileage Claims'

Jhansi's Deepak Kumar has emerged victorious in a legal battle against automotive giant Tata Motors Ltd.'s electronic vehicle's arm on Friday, according to a report.

Kumar had filed a case against a regional dealer for allegedly selling him an Tata EV Nexon with false mileage claims. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jhansi, ruled in favour of Kumar and directed Tata Motors to refund him an amount of Rs 17.49 lakh along with 7% annual interest and a penalty of Rs 15,000, UP Tak reported.

He had bought the car from JMK Motors' showroom on March 29, 2023 for Rs 18.40 lakh after the dealer claimed that the car will run for a total of 453 kilometres after being fully charged. To Kumar's surprise, the car only ran for 280 km, almost half of what had been promised to him.

According to the report, during the local dealer's evaluation, the car ran for only 280 km, without the air conditioner on at a speed of 60 km per hour.

Following this disappointment, Kumar accused the Tata company and the local dealer for deceiving them and filed a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, the report added.

While hearing the plaintiff's case, the commission's chairman Amar Pal Singh along with members Devesh Agnihotri and Jyotiprabha Jain accepted Kumar's accusation and said that the company had given false information to deceive the consumer.

Owing to the large difference in the mileage claims and the actual mileage, the commission said it could have caused harm to the buyer. On the basis of this, the commission directed Tata Motors Electric Ltd., and regional dealer JMK Motors to give the plaintiff full refund along with the annual interest and penalty.

"I am fully content with the court's decision and express my gratitude to it", Kumar said after the judgement was passed, according to the report.