Mahindra e2o

Mahindra e2o

REVA NXR concept car
Overview
Manufacturer Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles
Also called REVA NXR
Production 2013–
Assembly Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Body and chassis
Class City car
Body style 3-door hatchback
Powertrain
Electric motor 3 Phase Induction Motor[1]
Battery 48V Lithium-ion battery[1]
Range 120 km (75 mi)[1]
Dimensions
Length 3280 mm[1]
Width 1514 mm[1]
Height 1560[1]
Curb weight 830 kg (1,830 lb)[1]

The Mahindra e2o, previously REVA NXR, is an urban electric car hatchback manufactured by Mahindra REVA or Reva Electric Vehicles. The e2o (pronounced ee-two-oh) is the successor of the REVAi (or G-Wiz as it was known in the UK)[2] and was developed using REVA's technology, and has a range of 120 km (75 mi).[1]

In 2006, the G-Wiz became the world's best-selling Electric Vehicle[3] and by 2008, the company managed to sell over 950 G-Wiz electric cars, making it the UK's best-selling electric car of all time.

The e2o, a two-door, four-seater hatchback, is equipped with features like automatic transmission and allows the buyer to lock the car and operate the A/C using a mobile application. According to Forbes, the car "will inoculate its buyers from rising gas prices, provide relief from tailpipe exhaust on India’s polluted streets, and provide a much more convenient and cost effective alternative for the urban city driving."[4]

The firm also had plans to launch the e2o in the European market during the first quarter of 2014.[5]

Company History

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, formerly known as the Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), was founded in 1994 by Chetan Maini, as a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bangalore and Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies (AEVT Inc.) of the USA. The company's sole aim was to develop and produce an affordable compact electric car. Several other automakers were also aiming to do so, but in 2001 RECC launched the REVA electric car, the company's flagship vehicle, which was available in 26 countries with more than 4,000 of its different versions sold worldwide by mid March 2011.

Reva was acquired by Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra in May 2010. In 2013, Mahindra Reva was selected as one of "The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2013″ by Fast Company.[6]

Since inception, the company has come to be regarded as a pioneer in the electric vehicles space.[7]

Product History

Rear-quarter view of the REVA NXR concept exhibited at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Reva NXR M1 class electric concept car was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Production was initially scheduled for late 2010 with deliveries slated for early 2011;[8] export production was initially scheduled for 2012. It was later rescheduled for late 2012 only for the Indian market, and took place in March 2013 [9] when the Mahindra e2o was launched.[10]

According to the company, the market launch was delayed while waiting for the Indian government to decide if it would offer consumer tax benefits for electric car buyers. The incentives were not included in the 2013-14 Indian government budget, but the company decided to go ahead with the market launch. The company expects Delhi to become the biggest market for the e2o because the city offers a 29% subsidy for the purchase of electric cars. The company has already set up over 250 charging stations in various cities, with 95 in Delhi and over 100 in Bangalore.[11][12]

The Mahindra e2o was expected to be available with either lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries. The car's exterior concept was initiated in collaboration with DC Design, and detailed design of production exterior and interior styling was done in-house by Reva's R&D and Styling team.

Range, speed, safety and interior specifications fall along the lines of a new generation of battery electric vehicles. In Europe, the process might start with Mahindra e2o undergoing M1 categorisation. The earlier Reva was exempted from most European crash test rules because of its low weight and power, and it was registered in the European ‘heavy quadricycle’ category instead of the ‘car’ category. Now the Mahindra e2o like any other car sold in Europe, has to have a crash test, ABS and airbags.[13] The Mahindra e2o however, passed all safety tests in 2013 when it was crash tested in Spain.[14]

Roof-mounted solar panels of the REVA NXR concept.

The Mahindra e2o has features like a REVive battery charging system. Through the telematic remote access to the car's on-board Energy Management System, the company's support centre can individually determine the battery condition and allow access to a small reserve charge. Mahindra e2o is manufactured through processes that do not pollute all the way from the design stage in India's first Platinum certified automobile plant. The facility itself is naturally lit and ventilated, uses LED lights, recycles, gets 35 percent of its power from solar panels and is claimed to be 60-70 percent more efficient than a conventional facility. Much like a modern-day smartphone, the Mahindra e2o has functions that can be powered remotely. Remote diagnostics through telematics monitors the e2o on a daily basis giving instant diagnosis of any existing or impending problems. A smartphone app provides information of the car’s state of charge, and even sends a reminder for its various functions. One can remotely lock and unlock the car, start and stop charging, turn the car on and off, switch the air conditioning on and off and even set a schedule using the smartphone app.[15]

There are other ingenious technologies that have been incorporated in the e2o such as Sun2Car, and Regenerative braking system that further boost the car's range. The Sun2Car, for instance, allows people to charge the e2o using solar energy while it's parked.[16] The regenerative braking technology puts energy back into the car’s batteries and charges them every time the brake is applied or the accelerator is not pressed.[17]

Specifications

The car has a lithium-ion battery pack that takes five hours for a full charge, and with a weight of 830 kg (1,830 lb), delivers a range of 120 km (75 mi) and a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). The e2o is one of the more advanced cars on Indian roads, with smartphone-controlled features, GPS navigation system and a dashboard-mounted touchscreen, keyless entry, start/stop button, and regenerative braking. According to the company, the car's safety features comply with European norms.[11][18]

Production and sales

A Mahindra e2o in India.

The Mahindra e2o is manufactured at the company's Bangalore factory. The company invested ₹100 crore (US$18.5 million) on the development of the car and construction of a manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 units a year, and initially projected to sell only about 400 to 500 units a month, with Delhi accounting with about 150 to 200 units.[11] Due to delays in the roll-out of the central government incentives, in November 2013 the company announced it was scaling back plans to release of other electric vehicles, and reported that by mid November only about 400 units have been sold in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[19]

The Mahindra e2o was launched in India in March 2013 at a price between ₹6.5 lakh (US$11,900) to ₹8.5 lakh (US$15,670) depending on the city and before any subsidy.[11][20]

As a response to lower sales than initially expected, the e2o Premium variant was launched in August 2014 [21] with Electric Power steering and 120 km range upgrade 120 km (75 mi) at 5.72 lakh INR (ex- showroom Delhi) with a monthly energy fee of Rs. 2,999. The energy fee has been rechristened as “e2o care protection plan”.[22]

To address consumer concerns of high initial acquisition cost, Mahindra Reva introduced an ownership program, “Goodbye Fuel, Hello Electric”. The program splits the acquisition cost into initial cost and e2o care protection plan.[23] Under this program, the company would guarantee the performance of the battery as the ownership of the battery lies with Mahindra Reva. The company will also provide the 24X7 assistance and a courtesy car during battery repair period.[24]

Mahindra e2o has also been launched in countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bermuda.[25][26][27]

Sustainable Mobility Solutions

Besides manufacturing, the company is also involved in developing energy solutions for sustainable mobility. A few notable ones being Sun2Car, Car2Home and Quick2Charge.[28][29][30][31]

Mahindra Halo

Apart from Mahindra e2o, Mahindra Reva is also working on an all-electric sports car concept called Halo.[32] It is claimed to reach 0-100 kmph under 8 sec with a top speed of 160 kmph and range of over 200 km in one full range. The Halo boasts of an exciting looks and styling, a large tablet on the centre console that displays various car functions in real-time and doubles up as a multimedia player too. As per the manufacturers, the consumers can expect Halo to be a high performance sporty car with high-end features, safety systems, a host of advance "connectivity" features, user interfaces and high-performance drive trains and battery technologies at competitive prices.[33]

Mahindra Reva and Formula E

Formula E car was showcased by Mahindra Reva, as a part of the Mahindra group in the 2014 Auto Expo at Delhi.[34] Mahindra Reva team worked closely with the Mahindra Racing, the racing division of Mahindra Group, to get the Formula E cars ready for the Inaugural edition of Formula E World Championship which took place at Beijing in September 2014. Mahindra Racing Team is the only Indian team to race in Inaugural Formula E championship.[35] Following a successful first ever Formula E race in Beijing, Mahindra Racing is exploring the possibility of bringing the electrically-powered car series to India in the 2016-2017 season.[36]

Besides creating a mark on the global e-racing scene, the knowledge and technology from such Formula E cars will be used for commercial electric cars [34] with performance characteristics usually seen in cars with high-performance internal combustion engines [37]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Mahindra e2o Car Specification". www.mahindrareva.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Mahindra Reva lines up offer to boost E2O electric car sales". www.team-bhp.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150416135251/http://optimistworld.com/Boris-Johnson-charged-up-by-environmental-friendly-G-Wiz/. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "India Launches A $15,000 Electric Car, With No Help From The Government". Forbes. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Chaudhari, Yuga. "Lack of government subsidy puts brakes on e2o sales, says Mahindra & Mahindra". dna india. Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  6. ↑ "MAHINDRA REVA in "MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2013 by FAST COMPANY"". www.woolor.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Mahindra reva casestudy
  8. ↑ "Reva explains "rescheduling" of pilot production of NXR electric car". AutoblogGreen. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  9. ↑ Jon LeSage (2012-11-20). "Next-gen Mahindra Reva NXR electric car spotted in India". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
  10. ↑ http://www.carwale.com/news/9874-official-mahindra-reva-nxr-to-be-called-e2o-launch-soon.html
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Mahindra launches electric car 'e20' priced at ₹5.96 lakh". The Indian Express. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  12. ↑ Brad Berman (2013-03-05). "Mahindra's e20 All-Electric Car to Launch in India in Mid-March". PluginCars.com. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  13. ↑ "Mahindra Reva might test launch e20 in Amsterdam". www.wheelsunplugged.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  14. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131119122736/http://www.hindustantimes.com/autos/htauto-carreviews/mahindra-e2o-review-test-drive/article1-1028691.aspx. Archived from the original on November 19, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "6 reasons why Mahindra e2o is the coolest car to come out of India". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "M&M launches all-electric passenger car 'e2o'". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Mahindra launches electric car 'e2o' priced at Rs 5.96 lakh". Business Today (business magazine). Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Antony Ingram (2013-03-18). "Mahindra E2O Electric Minicar Launches In India, Nee Reva NXR". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  19. ↑ BS staff (2013-11-15). "Govt support missing, M&M scales back plans for new electric vehicles". Business Standard. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  20. ↑ Sagar Patel (2013-03-01). "Mahindra Reva e2o price ranges from Rs 6.5 to 8.5 lakhs in states with no subsidy". Rushlane Daily Auto News. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  21. ↑ Zigwheels.com (2014-08-14). "Mahindra Reva e2o Premium launched at Rs 5.72 lakh". Economic Times. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  22. ↑ "e2o CARE PROTECTION PLAN". www.mahindrareva.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Mahindra Reva launches Premium variant of e2o 'smart car'". Business Line. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Mahindra Reva slashes e2o price by up to Rs 1.7 lakh". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Mahindra launches e20 car in Nepal". Business Line. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Mahindra enters Bhutan, launches electric car e2o". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "Video/Photos: Mahindra e2o Electric Car Launch". Bernews. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Electric vehicles: Back to the future?". Forbes India. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  29. ↑ "Mahindra Reva e2o Gets Host Of Options – Quick2Charge, Sun2Car, Car2 Home, Goodbye Fuel/Hello Electric". InsideEVs.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "MAHINDRA REVA LAUNCHES NEW CAR". www.energynext.in. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Mahindra Reva showcases the Electric Future". Business Standard. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  32. ↑ http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-news/auto-expo-2014-mahindra-halo-electric-sportscar-revealed-371720.aspx
  33. ↑ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-22/news/47581746_1_mahindra-reva-e2o-maini
  34. 1 2 http://www.businessworld.in/news/business/auto/mahindra-reva-to-launch-formula-e-&-concept-electric-sports-car/1238258/page-1.html
  35. ↑ http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/teams/mahindra-racing.aspx
  36. ↑ http://www.firstpost.com/sports/formula-e-possibility-india-2016-17-mahindra-racing-1750587.html
  37. ↑ http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/mahindra-reva-leverage-formula-racing-develop-cars-5688
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