Hybrid Horizons in India

Posted on April 2, 2013

India is finally accepting Hybrids. This year the Indian automotive giant Mahindra and Mahindra launched their hybrid hatchback- the E-two-oh.(read E 20). This hybrid is a better version of the previous prototype launched by Mahindra way back in 2001. The earlier one did not gain popularity and acceptance due to performance and capacity issues. The new Mahindra E 20 is a step ahead of that.

Designed and styled by Dilip Chabbria himself, the new Reva looks futuristic and has features that promise to attend to the earlier shortcomings. Its on road price in New Delhi is 5,90,000 INR and the car will be phased out in 8 cities through 29 dealerships with its manufacturing plant being in Bangalore.

Given below are the features of the Reva E20.

• The Reva E20 has more space as compared to the earlier version and can seat four easily.
• It has an air conditioner, power steering, music system, a power outlet USB port .
• The E20 is powered by an electric motor with the lithium-ion batteries.
• It has a range of approximately 100 kilometers on a single charge and a speed of 80 kmph.
• The Reva can be charged from a power outlet and full charging takes 8 hours. The batteries come in three sizes-small, medium and large.
• The electric car promises  a running cost of .50 paisa per km as it is nearly one tenth of a same size petrol car.
• It does not require servicing but an annual check up of the batteries will do.
• The batteries come with a three year warranty or 60,000 kms and the one time cost of replacement is Rs 1.5 lakhs.
• The car comes with three apps for your smartphone- reva e20 , life with e20 app and the E20 connectivity app. The apps help to lock/unlock the car with the smartphone and also help to turn the AC on or off. Besides this you can check battery charge and enable GPS on your smartphone for better directions.

Buying the Reva E20 comes with multiple benefits as the Delhi Government like in other countries has slashed the prices of the road tax in half and also offers a refund on your Vat of 12.5%. A 15% subsidy on the base price is also offered. 

India has spent a whopping 230 billion INR to increase hybrid vehicle production in the coming years. It plans to target a production of an ambitious 6 million vehicles by 2020, most of them being two wheelers.