EVHUB.IN Blog: 10/08/09

Thursday 8 October 2009

Electric Cars in India: Why So Few? ( Published: October 08, 2009 in India Knowledge@Wharton )

With the rise of environmentalism and the high cost of gasoline, it would seem that the electric car would take off. Not so fast, says Bangalore-based writer Shoba Narayan in this opinion piece. Although companies like the Reva Electric Car Company are advancing the cause and major auto makers are likely to follow suit, Indian consumers need to be convinced they will achieve substantial savings and that there is enough infrastructure in place to support electric vehicles before they will be willing to open their wallets.
India has millions of people to house, power grids to expand and factories to fuel. They all involve hydrocarbons. How, then, is a developing economy to grow sustainably? One answer may lie in a small electric car being manufactured right here in Bangalore.
The Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) just announced a plan to build its second manufacturing unit, which some say will be the largest such facility in the world. Naturally, the new factory will meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings standards, with rainwater harvesting, solar power and natural ventilation. With a capacity for 30,000 cars, the facility will be operational in two years, according to the company. RECC also plans to develop a larger sedan that will comfortably seat four, compared to its zippy but tiny current model. More importantly, the new Reva L-ion will have a range of 120 kilometers compared to the current model's 80 kilometers per charge. While the current car battery takes a few hours to charge, the new model will achieve 90% of its charge in an hour using a fast-charge port option. All very good -- but why aren't customers lining up?

Read more on this article @ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4418