Mahindra Reva aims to sell 2500 electric cars next year

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Private Ltd is targetting to sell 2500 cars in the country by next year, a top official today said.

The company is expecting its sales to touch 1200 units this fiscal ending march 2011, Mahindra Reva General Manager (Marketing) Pawan Sachdeva told reporters here.

Mahindra Reva's new plant at Bangalore would go on stream by April next year and it would have a production capacity of 30,000 units per annum, he said. The present capacity of the existing plant is 1200 to 1500 units per month.

The company is also exporting its cars to various countries, including, UK, Norway, Spain and France.

It is also working on a four seater model of cars, which would be ready by 2012.

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2011 Chevrolet Volt: An Amercian dream becomes reality

Enough with the whispers and off-the-record remarks from engineers. We finally had the chance to drive a production-model 2011 Chevrolet Volt... well, almost. Let’s say that the version we tried is very close to what will soon be sold to American consumers. And, you guessed it, Canadians will have to wait until next spring!

The concept behind the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is so simple that it actually required a lot of thought. Since all-electric vehicles are still unable to offer enough range to suit most drivers, the GM engineers had the brilliant idea of pairing a gas engine with two electric motors. In this case, the gas engine does not power the front wheels. Instead, it acts a generator whose only function is to recharge the battery. For more information on its technical workings, read the article that my colleague Denis Duquet wrote about the 2011 Volt.

The beauty behind the Volt
To make a long story short, the Volt can cover 40 miles (65 km) on a single charge. That means that if you live 30 km from your work, you can do the round trip in all-electric mode. If, however, you have a longer distance to cover, the gas engine will kick in to provide electricity to the battery. A while ago, a hot debate was triggered when various websites claimed that the Volt’s gas engine powered the vehicle’s wheels. But one of the engineers (and a pretty one at that) in charge of the Volt project, and who accompanied us on our test drive, maintains that this is not the case. The confusion arises from the fact that when energy demands are very high, the power produced by the gas engine is immediately used by the electric engines instead of transiting through the battery.

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Future of Electric Vehicles conference a buzzing success

This week saw the Future of Electric Vehicles USA 2010 conference take place in San Jose, California. Billed as “the world's only event that covers all forms of electric vehicles – land, water, and air,” it included a series of presentations on new technologies, an exhibit hall, and master classes that featured trips to nearby Silicon Valley tech development firms. Gizmag was one of the main sponsors of the event, and we were there to learn more about what’s happening in the world of EVs.

The conference opened with an address from company Chairman Dr. Peter Harrop, who gave an overview of the present state and future of the EV industry.

First of all, despite how much we hear about vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and TeslaRoadster, Harrop pointed out that cars make up only about half the market for EVs. This will likely continue to be the case, with two-wheelers such as scooters and e-bikes constituting a significant portion of the other half. His company predicts that about 5 to 18 percent of cars will be pure electric or hybrid by 2020, and that the advent of technologies such as smart skins and energy-harvesting components will greatly enhance their performance – smart skin technology proposes that multi-layer materials making up the outside of the vehicle serve as its battery and/or photovoltaic system. Not all the new tech will be brand new, however... Harrop also spoke of a sense of déjà vu within the EV industry, in which some hundred-year-old ideas (such as wheel-mounted pancake motors) have been making a comeback.

Building the right kind of cars

Prof. Pietro Perlo, Senior Director at Research Center Fiat, hit upon a point that was echoed by other presenters. “A vehicle has to be born electrical,” he stated. “We used to say, ‘A vehicle has to be born smart,’ because if you’re born stupid, you can go to university, but at the end you remain stupid.” In other words, throwing an electric motor and battery pack in a car designed for a combustion engine is not the way to go. He said that such cars could take advantage of smart onboard photovoltaic systems, along with an “Internet of Energy,” that would link producers, suppliers and consumers of energy in an electronic smart grid system.

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Mahindra mulls electric vehicles for US market

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra plans to enter the US market with its electric vehicles from group firm REVA's portfolio within next five years, a top official said today.

The announcement comes at a time when the homegrown firm is fighting a legal battle with its erstwhile sole US distributor for delaying the launch of its pick-up truck in the American nation.

"US is an important and big market for electric vehicles. We are looking at that market. We will be there before our target of full global presence in next five years, but exactly when, that we have not decided yet," Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicles chief of operations R Chandramouli said.

At present, the US government provides various incentives to the tune of USD 7,500 on electric vehicles, he added.

In May this year, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) acquired 55.2 per cent stake in Chetan Maini-promoted REVA Electric Car Company through a combination of equity purchase and a fresh equity infusion of over Rs45 crore into the company.

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Nissan Leaf: A revolutionary vehicle that drives like a car

The Leaf is revolutionary because when it hits the road this winter, it will be the first mass-market all-electric car on the market and will start at $32,780 before tax credits. Kudos toNissan Motor Co.for having the joules to devote the time (it started developing electric vehicles in 1992) and the expense (billions of dollars) necessary to bring the Leaf to production.

And in so doing, Nissan addressed the myriad shortcomings that electric cars traditionally have had in comparison with their internal-combustion brethren. Key among these are concerns about the cars' practicality and cost and consumers' range anxiety, a nascent term that describes the fear of running out of power before reaching the destination.

My time with the Leaf demonstrated that for all its innovation, it's just a car. It's not a science experiment, or a spaceship or a pipe-dream prototype. It's a livable, enjoyable car that just happens to avoid using gasoline altogether because you plug it in at home to charge. A statewide network of charging stations is also in the works.

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Australia’s First Ever Electric Vehicle Fast Charger to be Installed at Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) will unveil Australia’s first ever fast charge electric vehicle recharging station later this month in Adelaide to service Mitsubishi’s innovative electric i-MiEV.

Located at MMAL headquarters in Clovelly Park, Adelaide, the Level 3 Electric Vehicle DC Fast Charge System will provide fast and convenient charging for the i-MiEV, one of the world’s first truly viable zero drive-time emission city commuter vehicles.

MMAL has worked with motoring club product and service supply company Club Assist to bring the latest electric car re-charging technology to Australia.

The Fast Charger charges the i-MiEV’s Lithium-ion battery to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes and a 50 percent charge is completed in under 12 minutes. The battery can also be charged from a normal 15 amp domestic household power supply, taking about seven hours to reach full capacity.

President and CEO of MMAL, Masahiko Takahashi, said he is thrilled to bring Australia’s first ever Fast Charger to Mitsubishi customers.

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Tata Indica Vista EV Emerges as Show Stopper at EV Show

Tata Motors is readying its new electric vehicle Tata Indica Vista EV for the international market, starting with the UK. The car was recently showcased at London Future Car Challenge and won two of the prestigious awards including the Most Economic Small Passenger EV and the Most Economical & Environment Friendly Small Passenger EV. The company is now working on finalising the prototype and gearing up for an official launch soon next year.

Tata Indica Vista will compete in the international market with models like Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf which look like the most promising new models amongst electric vehicles. Indica Vista EV is also looking upon competing with the hybrid vehicles like Toyota Prius and Honda Civic which are extremely popular hybrid models in their segment.

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