Mahindra Plans Low Cost EV For British Drivers

Mahindra means diesel powered tractors for most Americans. But the giant industrial manufacturer from India is also keenly interested in the EV market. It already fields a team in Formula E, the international racing series for open wheel cars. Unlike Tesla, which wants to build its electric car company from the top down, Mahindra is more interested in starting at the bottom and working its way up.  It will begin selling it no-frills e20 electric car in the London area soon.

The e20 EV is priced between £10,000 and £13,000, which is equivalent to about between $14,500 and $18,500. It has a maximum range of 75 miles. Its price is about half that of a Nissan LEAF in England. While the LEAF is a larger, better equipped car, half price is still a powerful sales tool.

Arvind Mathew, chief executive of Mahindra’s electric vehicle business, tells Enland’s The Standard, “We want to take [electric cars] out of the elitist market and make it more of a run-of-the-mill thing. Our product is really designed for city commuting, not for long distance driving.” He adds, “Our foray into the UK is purely electric, so it’s a big deal for us because as a brand we don’t exist. From the Mahindra group perspective, this is a huge deal.”

The target market for Mahindra’s E20 EV is young families looking to buy their second car. The e20 will only be available online and it will be delivered directly to the customer’s home. Repairs will be done at home by a fleet of mobile service vehicles. After sales begin in London, the company plans to expand sales to other British cities such as Birmingham, Bristol, and Milton Keynes.

Mahindra’s entry into the UK market started badly when it bought a company called Reva in 2010. Reva manufactured an EV known as the G-Wiz. A perfectly dreadful little car, it was the butt of numerous jokes on Top Gear. Mahindra will be swimming upstream against a tide of negative publicity for a while before customers begin to accept the e20 as something other than a rebadged G-Wiz.

Small urban commuter cars are part of an enormous market worldwide. They are much in demand in China, especially in rural areas where luxury motor cars are less important than basic transportation. By starting at the bottom of the market, Mahindra is following in the footsteps of some other manufacturers who have gone on to modest commercial success — companies like Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and Kia.

Note to Elon Musk: He who laughs last, laughs best. Don’t be too quick to dismiss Mahindra and its diminutive EV. At least not yet.

Mahindra Will Sell Reva e20 Electric Car In Europe

America, Europe, and Japan have led the way in building and buying electric vehicles, though China has been making a push towards electrification as well. Could India be a player in the global electric car world as well? Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra thinks so, as it wants to sell its Reva e20 compact electric car to Europeans, says the International Business Times.

Mahindra has had its eyes on expanding beyond India for awhile now, including a failed attempt to import a diesel-powered compact pickup to the U.S. Mahindra also attempted to become a major player in India’s basically non-existent EV market, and though the country pledged to put some 7 million EVs on its roads by the end of the 2020, annual sales of the Reva have been around 1,000 cars.

Mahindra’s response has been to slash the price of the Reva for Indian customers, and try to recoup its investment on the Reva by importing it to Europe. Europeans are turning to electric cars in greater and greater numbers, and while the Reva is sold in some 24 other minor markets, Europe has the money to make it a success. The key to its success will be an extremely low cost compared to EVs like the Nissan LEAF, which can go 84 miles per charge to the Reva’s approximately 62 to 75 miles.

However, the Reva costs just $11,900 to $16,000, even when equipped with features like smartphone capability and GPS, which is about one-third of what a Nissan LEAF sells for after incentives in many European countries. The Reva e20 could end undercutting even the Renault Twizy, while offering a number of luxury features (like doors) that the French runabout doesn’t have.

Of course if it doesn’t happen, that wouldn’t be any surprise either. The Tata Nano was supposed to be imported to Europe and America by now, but like the aforementioned Mahindra pickup, it just didn’t happen. Will the Mahindra Reva e20 be the first Indian car to find success in a market dominated by the traditional auto industry? Or is it just another false start?

GM To Develop Electric Car In US; Ends Reva Tie-Up

General Motors has ended a partnership with Indian firm Reva to produce electric cars and will now develop the vehicle in its home town of Detroit, the head of its Indian operations said on Thursday.

The announcement follows Mahindra & Mahindra's deal on Wednesday to acquire a 55 percent stake in Reva Electric Car Company.

GM India, which had originally planned to launch an electric version of the Chevrolet Spark, will now showcase the hybrid electric vehicle Chevrolet Volt in the fourth quarter of 2010, after its global launch in November, Karl Slym said. He did not give a time frame for the introduction of full-fledged electric vehicles in the Indian market. Slym said the decision to end the agreement with Reva was taken around two months ago as GM had a parallel programme to develop electric vehicles globally.

"Now with Reva changing its ownership we saw no particular value in doing this experiment," he said. Reva had entered into an agreement with General Motors India last year to develop electric cars in the country, including an electric version of the Chevrolet Spark. In January GM announced it would set up a $246 million facility to build electric motors to power hybrids and possibly pure electric vehicles.

General Motors' joint venture with China's SAIC would start off with the launch of small commercial vehicles in India in end-2011 while passengers cars from the venture will follow a year later, Slym said. The joint venture between the two companies was announced late last year and was formed in February this year, he added.


Source: Economic Times

REVA Will Produce Li Ion vehicles and Fast Charging Stations

The India based car company, Reva has announced big plans for its newest car. Their current electric car is the REVAi, or G-Wiz in the UK and the next iteration will be the REVA L-ion which utilizes Lithium Ion batteries. The new model will have a top speed of 50 mph and a projected range of 75 miles. This car is perfect for the urban dweller and can even be driven on roads with posted speed limits of 55 mph, although I would hesitate to do such. Unfortunately, there are no plans to market this car in the United States.

"Reva Electric Car Company (REVA), the maker of the REVAi electric city car (G-Wiz in the UK) has launched the Lithium-ion powered REVA L-ion in Europe.

Based on the REVAi platform, the REVA L-ion offers a range of 120 km (75 miles) per charge and a maximum speed of 80 km (50 miles) per hour. REVA has also developed a new proprietary intelligent battery management system for the L-ion that tracks the performance of each cell. REVA will offer a three-year battery warranty.

REVA is also introducing a fast charge station capable of charging the REVA L-ion to 90% in one hour.

The new REVA off-board fast charge station uses three-phase power and is primarily aimed at organizations that require constant vehicle availability during the day and will be offered to purchase or lease. The REVA L-ion’s normal full charging time is six hours using ordinary mains electricity, with an 80% charge taking 3.5 hours.

The REVA L-ion (classified as a quadricycle under UK and European law) and fast charge stations will be available to pre-order from REVA distributors in Norway, UK, France, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Belgium and Ireland from February 2009, with the first test drive vehicles and customer deliveries commencing May 2009.

Customers will have the option of outright purchase or battery leasing, with prices to be announced by the end of January. REVA is also developing upgrade kits that will enable existing REVA owners with an AC motor and lead acid powertrain to upgrade to the lithium-ion powertrain later in 2009.

The REVAi features a 13 kW (peak) AC induction motor that develops up to 52 Nm (38 lb-ft) of torque.

Bangalore, India-based Reva Electric Car Company is a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV LLC of California and is venture-backed by lead US investors Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurveston."