EVs: Less than a week after the Nissan Leaf was launched, another electric vehicle (EV), Mahindra’s e2o, was launched yesterday in Thimphu.
e2o is the next generation of Mahindra’s Reva I, which did not gain much popularity in the Bhutanese market.
A memorandum of understanding was signed yesterday, formalising the partnership between Mahindra and the government, where the government would provide charging infrastructure to support EVs manufactured by the company.
Chief executive officer of Mahindra Reva electric vehicles private limited, Chetan Maini, said e2os possess a unique technology of synthesising the energy on hitting the brakes, just like the Leaf.
He said, based on the experiments conducted in Norway under -20 degrees Celsius, and tests on India’s rugged terrains, the vehicle is very much suitable for Bhutan.
Batteries, he said, have been switched from lead acid of the old Reva i to lithium ion. He said the lithium ion batteries are not only four times lighter, but also four times more efficient.
e2o takes less than an hour to get charged fully, which gives a mileage of 100km or it takes only 15 minutes to travel 25km, if the quick charging stations are being used.
At home, it can be also charged from a 15 ampere socket at home, from which it takes about five hours to get fully charged.
As for the battery life, Chetan said that the car can run for 150,000km on a single battery, and that 25 percent of the cars cost comprised the cost of the battery.
He said that a battery could last more than seven years, after which it can be recycled. “So after seven year, I don’t know how much it would cost,” he said, adding there could be evolution of better battery technology.
(Dr) Pawan Goenka, the executive director and president of Mahindra automotive and farm equipment, said initial cost of the car is higher, because the technology is expensive. “But cost in the four-year cycle is cheaper.”
The car is also equipped with remote diagnostic controls, which can be made available on any smart phones. For instance, locking the car, activating the heating systems, among others, can be done by simply sending a command from the smart phones.
Chetan Maini also said, since December last year, four teams from the company have been in Bhutan testing the vehicles and understanding the market.
Talking about the battery regeneration technology, he said about 18 to 20 percent of the battery is being regenerated upon driving to Buddha point from Thimphu and back. Chetan said e2o is a “clever car” that displays the health of the car any time on the dashboard screen.
Launching the car, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said, Bhutan exports cheap electricity, while importing expensive fossil fuels.
He added, sustainable transport is a must in pursuing the path of sustainable development and commitment to be carbon neutral.
Lyonchhoen also pointed out that, although it is up to the buyer and sellers to promote EVs in the country, the government has done its part by introducing the idea.
He added that government would continue to support the EVs through taxes, subsidies and by building the infrastructure, such as the charging stations.
Lyonchhoen said, while driving from Thimphu to Paro, there aren’t any fuel stations on the way, but still people didn’t have any problem, and so the electric vehicles is not going to run out of power. “It’s a psychological obstacle people have, and we have to overcome it by building more charging stations, and the government is willing to work on this.”
Meanwhile, Singye Agencies, the Mahindra representative in Bhutan has not only installed a charging station at its show room in Thimphu but also announced immediate sale of the next generation of Reva, e2o, in three cost options.
The cheapest is around Nu 699,000. Premium variant with infotainment system and camera costs Nu 799,000 and the premium variant with quick charge option costs Nu 839,000.
By Tshering Dorji
http://www.kuenselonline.com/mahindras-turn-to-electrify-transportation/
Bhutanist 