Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles is rolling out a slew of initiatives to establish that owning an affordable electric car is possible. “The biggest challenge for us is the lack of awareness. In a recent study, we found that only 30-35 per cent of people were aware of EVs. So, technology or affordability is no longer the issue in selling these vehicles. We are coming out with many initiatives to build confidence among the buyers,” Chetan Maini, Founder and CEO of Mahindra Reva, told a group of reporters here.
The company, which presently sells its electric cars only in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi, is set to establish experience centres for its EVs. It plans to put up the first such centre in Bangalore. It has set up about 400 charging stations in four cities. The company has so far sold about 5,000 cars, which include about 500 units of e2o.Its other initiatives include an ownership scheme, which will reduce the upfront purchase cost by about Rs.2 lakh, and also get an EMI (equated monthly instalment) option that will include the cost to guarantee hassle-free battery operation for five years. It has also launched Quick2Charge station, which will help charge the cars fully in an hour’s time. In the normal charging station, it will take about five hours. “About 50 Quick2charge units will come up in the next 12 months,” said Jagan Kurain, Head-Sales, Marketing and Exports, Mahindra Reva.
If a customer buys e2o, priced at about Rs.7.64 lakh (in Bangalore), instead of a petrol-powered car, priced at about Rs.7 lakh, he/she would save Rs.5,352 a month. By opting for e2o in place of a diesel car, priced at about Rs.6 lakh, customers could save Rs.7,168 a month for a drive of 50 km a day, claimed the company. “While we will continue to create the eco-system for EVs in the Indian market, we will also look at going international in the next 6-9 months. We are keen on entering two major EV markets in Europe – the U.K. and Norway, while we will push our sales further in Bhutan and Nepal,” said Mr. Maini.
(This correspondent was in Bangalore at the invitation of the company)
