The Bangalore based firm is busy producing one of the lowest dust-to-dirt carbon footprint cars in mass production for a cleaner and greener tomorrow
Words: Saeed Akhtar and Sarmad Kadiri
The trend at the recently held Frankfurt Motor Show only indicated the shape of things to come. Non-renewable resources are to be preserved or at least sucked out from the earth at a smaller rate. Almost every major manufacturer displayed their own version of what ought to be the fuel for the future and the answer was electricity, as of now that is. Some were destined to remain as concepts only while others went on sale almost immediately. Amongst all these biggies, a small manufacturer was present as the unofficial torchbearer of the Indian automotive industry. Yes, Reva Electric Car Company (the Bangalore based maker of electric cars) was there on the international stage, doing its bit to save the world from the predictions of the Mayan calendar.
The Reva NXR (NeXt REVA) and the Reva NXG (NeXt Generation) cars that were shown are a far cry from the first model that the company sold under its own brand name eight years back. The skillful hands of India’s most famous auto designer, Dilip Chhabria have crafted the cars that ooze controlled aggression and radical sporty looks from every angle. These electric cars wouldn’t look out of place on the sets of the next instalment of Total Recall, the Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster.Underneath the glossy skin, lies a three-door, four-seater family hatchback that can comfortably nudge the 104km/h mark while still providing a range of 160 kilometres per charge. These clean e-cars highlight the concept of ‘Born Green’, meaning that they will have one of the lowest dust-to-dirt carbon footprints of any car in mass production.
Unlike the utilitarian Reva, these next generation electric cars incorporate a number of goodies that promise to make the ownership experience go far. Foremost among them is the exclusive REVive technology that acts like an invisible reserve fuel tank and addresses ‘range anxiety’. If a customer runs out of charge, he can telephone or send a text message to REVA’s customer support centre. The advanced telematics feature will assess the car’s batteries remotely and activate a reserve amount of energy for a few extra kilometres of range so that the driver can, hopefully, reach a place where the cute e-cars can be charged. Currently, REVA is being sold and test marketed in 24 countries and is the largest deployed fleet of EVs in the market – 3400 on the road with more than 85 million km of user experience.
BUZZ FROM REVA TOWN
TAKING A GREEN STEP IN INDIA
The company has also entered into a JV with BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL) under which they will install charging points or kiosks in various areas around East and Central Delhi. The latter has agreed to provide these charging points free of cost exclusively for REVA customers.
PRICE
The lithium-ion NXR Intercity version is sold in Europe for around Rs 10 lakh (Euro 14,995), excluding batteries. The firm will announce the price of the e-vehicles in India soon.
THE NEXT LEVEL
The recently announced collaboration with GM India helped REVA leverage GM’s large distribution network in the country to market its Next Generation Vehicles (NXG). Reva and GM will jointly develop and market electric vehicles for India and the first car to emerge out of this JV will be the electric Spark.
