Abstract The paper outlines an insight into Tata Motors’ perspective for sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation with particular emphasis upon the role of transport electrification. It then describes the development of the Tata Vista EV focusing upon the major areas of technical development that were necessary and how these were tackled. The paper then moves on to discuss the development and performance of a higher specification and even more eco-friendly vehicle version of the Vista EV, termed Vista EVX, to participate in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition which took place in the USA during the summer of 2010. One of the big areas of uncertainty when developing electric vehicles is that of the customer usage patterns. Tata Motors European Technical Centre and partners, in a TSB collaborative R&D programme (CABLED), are now gaining experience and data and significant points from this are shared in the paper.