The Reva Electric Car Company is a joint venture between Maini Group and AEVT Inc. of Irvindale, California, to manufacture environment-friendly, cost-effective electric vehicle for city mobility. The company wants to promote the ‘Made in India’ brand, standing for high quality and reliability. It is based on the Zero concept Philosophy implying Zero defects, Zero time delays, Zero inefficiencies and the obvious Zero pollution. The company manufactures the REVA at Bommasandra Industrial Area, Bangalore.

The car has a top speed of 65 Km/hr and a range of 80 Km. It is specifically designed for city conditions. These days parking has become a huge problem. With existing car sizes one cannot squeeze into reasonable space but REVA is small and easy to drive therefore it is easier to park and maneuver.

The car has cutting edge technology making Reva almost maintenance free. It is absolute pollution free and runs on batteries which can be charged anywhere.

Meanwhile, the company has sold over 3000 cars in the 18 months since launch.

The question is, is it possible in India to have electric vehicles? Studies show that India has a huge potential with Brazil and China a close second. The main reasons are urban congestion, high pollution levels and large car markets. Also India has low labour cost, low production start-up cost and the present investment in IC engine capacity is low. And here is the company that has revolutionised the concept and had stepped into the future in present times.

It is a norm in the automobile industry where all the companies right from our very own Maruti to Hyundai to Ford have variants of their successful models. Reva is no exception for they have variants suited for different target segment. For example they have Reva Sahara for the physically challenged. This is a car customized for them and does not have a clutch or gear, ideal for stop and go and the controls of accelerator and brake are in the hands. These have been incorporated into one control rod which allows them to operate from hand. Another variant is Reva Eco which is zero pollution promoted by the government. It is provided at a subsidy to public institutions, educational organisations, hospitals, and government organisations. Then we have Reva Classe.

The company is also simultaneously working on the launch of Electric mini buses for intra-city commuting.

The company hopes to sell Reva in the international markets like Europe, Nepal and South East Asia. The company hopes to sell over 5,50,000 cars across Europe in the next 10 years.

The concept of electric cars is not new. It dates back to the year 1834 when the first Electric Vehicle was built, but there was no encouragement since gasoline driven vehicles were faster and cheaper with a greater range. Moreover, there was easy accessibility of petroleum products. Also research revealed that the acquisition of technology would be costly.

But this did not stop the evolution of electric vehicles. Decades later the concept resurfaced. The main reasons being the growing concerns for fast depleting natural oil resources, environmental pollution and the need to satisfy demand for vehicles without aggravating pollution problems. Practically all the major automobile companies have made the EC part of their product portfolio.

Issue BG26 May03

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