The acquisition of Reva Motors by Mahindra has added steam to the electric vehicle market in India, the company seems to have stepped on the throttle recently and lets take a look at what this means for the Indian consumer.

Firstly the companies much awaited Reva NXR, which can do 160 Km on a single charge is slated to be launched in October this year.

The factory that Reva Motors was building on the outskirts of Bangalore that has the capacity of 30,000 vehicles, has been inaugurated today. Although now it’s a Mahindra Reva factory, that will boost the company’s total production volume.

What’s even better news is the fact that the Verito, which is the rebranded Logan, will find itself going electric. Though don’t expect seeing it on the road for a minimum of two years.

The best part is with Mahindra entering the Electric Vehicle segment in India, we shall see a range of policies that are coming up to create a feasible environment for green cars in the Indian market.

We take it for granted that an Electric Car or a car that doesn't run on petrol or diesel is not viable at this point in time, that's where World Advanced Vehicle Expedition (WAVE) steps in.

WAVE, is a green car rally that takes place around the world and will put forth their concept of a greener automotive section on 3rd December 2011 in India.

5 electric vehicles are being flown in from Switzerland, to cover a 3000 km circuit from Mumbai - Pune - Hyderabad - Bangalore - Goa - Mumbai. The rally will consist of cars that are powered by Solar, Wind, Hydro & Bio Mass cars or a mix of these renewable energy sources.

The WAVE India project wants to reach out to Indians by, visiting local projects, schools and places of interest and show that electric cars are a reliable solution for the challenges that India and the world are facing.

The project wants to open peoples eyes to solutions apart from fossil fuels and help stop global warming. WAVE was started by Louis Palmer, the first man who ever circumnavigated the world with solar power.

In a previous post we spoke about how Maruti was focusing on greener technology, after that we got news of Maruti's EECO Charge and today finally we have both the EECO Charge and the SX4 Hybrid to ferry official around the Common Wealth Games in Delhi.

The hybrid version of the SX4 offer 25% more fuel economy as compared to its gasoline brother. The hybrid version uses a electric motor with a twin clutch arrangement combined with a Lithium ion battery.

The SX4 doing the rounds at the CWG is powered with a 1.2 litre K-series petrol engine along with a 50 kW electric motor and a 5-speed automated manual transmission.

Shinzo Nakanishi, md, ceo, Maruti Suzuki, India Limited, said, “I am happy that engineers at Maruti Suzuki have developed these future technology vehicles. This project has helped our engineers to increase their knowledge and enhance their research and design capability. We are grateful to the government for their leadership to promote green technology in automobiles. We are happy to be associated with the Commonwealth Games national initiative, through these vehicles.”

More details on the Electric Eeco

The third offering from the Sankalp group, My E-Bike Foton, is the largest in terms of dimensions and weight. Although it still shares the same motor and battery as the Sporty and Classic, so this makes me wonder if it has the least range and power among the three?

Item/Description  Specification   Parameter
Performance	Speed	<25km/h
	Range per charge	100 kmpc*
	Kerb Weight	82 kg
	Loading Capacity	120 kg
Dimension	L X W X H ( in mm )	1915 X 680 X 1200
Motor	Motor Type	BLDC Motor
	Rated Power	< 250 W
Battery	Battery Type	Sealed Lead Acid Battery
	Voltage	48 V
	Capacity	22 AH
Controller	Controller Type	PWM Controller
Charger	Charger Type	56 V, 3Amp
	Charging time	6-8 Hrs
Tyre	Tyre Size	16 X 3.0
Brake	Brake Front	Drum brake
	Brake Rear	Drum brake
* At the speed of 25Km/Hr and Payload of 75 Kg

The E-Bike Foton is priced at approximately Rs 30000

The My E-Bike Classic Neo is another bike from the Sankalp Group, similar to the sporty. But it sports a larger battery and is more durable enabling it to carry a heavier pay load.

Item/Description  Specification   Parameter
Performance	Speed	<25km/h
	Range per charge	100 kmpc*
	Kerb Weight	78 kg
	Loading Capacity	150 kg
Dimension	L X W X H ( in mm )	1900 X 650 X 1200
Motor	Motor Type	BLDC Motor
	Rated Power	< 250 W
Battery	Battery Type	Sealed Lead Acid Battery
	Voltage	48 V
	Capacity	24 AH
Controller	Controller Type	PWM Controller
Charger	Charger Type	56 V, 3Amp
	Charging time	6-8 Hrs
Tyre	Tyre Size	16 X 3.0
Brake	Brake Front	Drum brake
	Brake Rear	Drum brake
* At the speed of 25Km/Hr and Payload of 75 Kg

The price of the E-Bike Classic Neo is approximately Rs 30,000