Reva is on the verge of the world’s biggest electric car plant for city drive. This will be the first ever mass production on green car, said the company’s founder Maini, an alumni of hybrid electric technology from California Stanford University. He was the one who promoted no-clutch, no-gear technology. He is heading a team of 75 engineers. MrMaini is of the opinion that the growing climate change focuses on electric cars and the solar energy can be a better source for driving the cars, he said.
He was in the news some two decades ago with the General Motors-sponsored solar-powered race in which his car came third much surprisingly. The existing environmental condition too designed this technology as more than 3000 such cars are on the Indian and Britain(as G-Witz) roads. The cars are on the roads for the past 8 years. Reva is the off-shoot of a JV between Maini Group and the US AEV, started in 1994. The early years were very tough that it took seven years to market the electric cars. In the interim period the company was analyzing the usage of such cars and the needs of people.
The recent recognition by General Motors to have a tie-up on technology with Reva has sparked a glimpse. Reva is designed to accommodate two adults and two children to run for 50miles on a single charge. New arrivals pose the sporty looks and run for more distance. The next generation electric car will be a hatchback NXR and will be a family car with 65miles/hr speed and 100 miles mileage with the charge ready in 90 minutes, and the price will be @10000 euros. NXG, the next model is designed to run 125-mile at 80miles/hr and the price will be 23000 euros in Europe.
But in India the cars will be sold cheaper than this price. The current retail cars, built indigenously in Bangalore, are at 350, 000 rupees and are ideal as second automobile. The running cost is nearly one-tenth of petrol and the electric cars will have no filters, spark plugs or radiators and less maintenance costs. The concept, according to Maini, was in his mind as a child when he assembled the toy cars.
Now his aim is to go for ‘5000’plus for next three years and then 30000 annual production from his Bangalore unit. The standard plug point of 15amps is ideal for running this car and the company’s tie-up with GM is a booster. Both the companies anticipate a lot about the electric Spark much in India.