India, March 10 -- Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. is betting that a refreshed, budget-friendly version of its Punch EV will be the catalyst that it needs to recapture a majority of India's fast-growing but fiercely contested electric vehicle market-a share it has watched erode as new rivals drove in.

But Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer at Tata Motors Electric Mobility Ltd., says the company's ambitions extend well beyond defending existing turf. The new Punch EV, he argues, is designed to unlock a segment that's skips the EV segment-the first-time car buyer.

"Punch EV always used to attract a good amount of first-time car buyers-not just first-time EV buyers. But with the new Punch EV, the enhancements that we have done, w...