World’s Cheapest Electric Car To Debut In India This Year
Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motor is getting ready to launch its electric car Ora R1 in India, this year. This car model is being termed as the cheapest electric vehicle in the world with a price range of $8.6K to $11K (INR 6.2 Lakh to INR 8 Lakh). Owned by a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor, the car is said to have a maximum range of 351 Km and is being run on a 35KW motor. 351Km range is comparable to other electric cars available in the Indian market, which have an average range of 270 Km with the maximum being Hyundai Kona’s 452 Km/full charge. However, the Hyundai Kona costs about INR 28 Lakh. Further, the average cost of electric cars in India is around INR 13 Lakh, which is much higher than the average INR 5 Lakh for economical cars run on traditional fuel. The launch of Ora R1 will certainly give Indian consumers an economical electric vehicle option while they battle ambiguity around India’s emission norms and economic slowdown. In 2019, passenger vehicle manufacturers in India have reported a drop of 14% in yearly sales with Maruti Suzuki making a 2% increase in sales on top of heavy discounts.
Future Is Green: 2020 May See Re-Birth Of Electric Vehicles, Say Experts
The year 2019 was a mix of ups and downs for the electric vehicle (EV) sales in the country. The coming year is expected to be better, with the entry of more electric cars and Chinese entities’ entry, bringing down the average cost. The second phase of the Rs 10,000-crore scheme of the central government, termed Faster Adoption and Manufacturing for Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME II), offers higher incentives to higher powered products. It excludes lead acid battery-powered two-wheelers and mandates that e-scooters should have 80 km per charge and a minimum top speed of 40 kmph, with at least 50 per cent localisation in manufacturing. This has left a large share of two-wheelers out of the incentive, says CRISIL Research. Recently, Union minister Prakash Javadekar told Parliament about 285,000 buyers of electric/hybrid vehicles had been supported by a subsidy of Rs 360 crore under FAME. Low-speed lithium battery vehicles without the FAME incentive cost around Rs 55,000. The high-speed electric two-wheeler costs around Rs 80,000 after the incentive applied, said sources.The number of electric cars within the FAME scheme of under Rs 15 lakh cap sold during April to September almost halved to 340. They do not include the numbers of Hyundai’s Kona, launched in July, according to the Society. Reports say only around 1,500 electric cars for personal use have been sold so far during the financial year. Some of the positive developments were entry of leading players into the EV business, state governments announcing policies and customers becoming more aware of the benefits of such vehicles. The goods and services tax (GST) for EVs was cut from 12 per cent to five per cent in July. The GST rate on charger or charging stations for EVs was also reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. The central government also announced additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on a loan to buy an EV, apart from duty exemptions for some parts.
All-Electric Mini Cooper In The Pipeline For India
British carmaker Mini is considering the all-electric Cooper SE hatchback for India. The development was first reported in Autocar India’s December 2019 issue. However, the Cooper SE – the brand’s first mass-production electric vehicle that was unveiled earlier this year – will make it to the Indian market only by 2021; not any time soon. The brand cites the country’s EV infrastructure (or the lack, thereof) as one of the reasons behind this decision. Francois Roca – vice president, Mini Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle-east and Africa, hinted the car is not a priority model for India. “We’re ramping up the production, so we will be servicing the first markets that are near the plant. It will come eventually.” Roca said. He added, “We need infrastructure. So when there will be very large infrastructure, it definitely makes sense to have the BEV in the Indian market. Today, I would say it can’t be that we have to be in India with the BEV to tick a box.” Mini believes that the model’s limited range will not be a big concern, given the car’s primarily intra-city usage. Mini’s parent company BMW has toyed with the idea of launching its own all-electric hatchback, the i3s; which, incidentally, lends its powertrain to the Cooper SE. The Cooper SE’s i3s-derived powertrain makes 184hp and 270Nm of torque. This is mated to a 32.6kWh battery mounted beneath the passenger seat in a T-shape, which delivers a 235-270km WLTP-certified range. However, unlike the AWD BMW, the motor in the Mini powers the front wheels only. 0-100kph takes a claimed 7.3sec, with a 150kph top speed. Mini says it is also capable of fast-charging from 0-80 percent in 35min via a 50kW charge point. An 11kW wall box can achieve 0-80 percent charge in 150min – or 210min to full.
Rs 700-Cr Investment On Hold By A Year, FAME II Failed To Deliver: Hero Electric
Leading electric two-wheeler maker Hero Electric has put on hold investments of up to Rs 700 crore by a year with the sector taking a nosedive as FAME II, scheme aimed to promote electric vehicles, has failed to deliver, according to a top company official. Calling for a complete revamp of the policy, the company wants the government to include low speed two-wheelers for subsidy arguing that for mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India these cost effective vehicles are critical. As per Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicle (SMEV), sales of FAME II qualified electric two-wheelers in April-December 2019 period stood at just 3,000 units as against 48,671 units in the year-ago period when FAME I was in place, a decline of 93.84 per cent. Under FAME I, low speed two-wheelers with top speed of up to 25km/hr had qualified for incentives of up to Rs 17,000 and Rs 22,000 for high speed ones.However, under FAME II, which came into effect from April 1, 2019, electric two-wheeler are mandated to have a minimum range of 80 km per charge and minimum top speed of 40 kmph to qualify for an incentive of Rs 20,000.
Tata Motors Partners With Delhi-Based EV Taxi App To Deploy 500 Tigor EVs
Tata Motors Limited has partnered with Prakriti E-Mobility Limited, an electric vehicle (EV) based taxi service, to deploy 500 of its Tigor EVs in New Delhi.The cars will be deployed on Prakriti E-Mobility’s application-based platform EVERA. The first batch, consisting of 160 Tigor EVs, is expected to be operational by January 2020, according to Tata Motors’ press release. Tata Motors said its Tigor EV has a driving range of 213 km on a single charge and offers low-cost ownership, connectivity, the comfort of a sedan, and zero carbon emissions.The Indian government has incentivized consumers to promote EV adoption in the country. About 285,000 buyers of electric and hybrid vehicles have benefitted from the subsidies provided under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) program to the tune of ₹3.6 billion (~$50.2 million). Previously, Mercom reported that Tata Motors joined hands with Lithium Urban Technologies, a commercial EV fleet provider (outside of China), to explore new models for customers who are looking for customized mobility solutions in the passenger, mass transit, and freight segments. As a part of this new partnership, the company has signed a contract for the deployment of 400 newly launched Tigor EVs across the country. More recently, Tata Motors announced the Nexon EV, its first long-range electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) in the country, and has scheduled it to be launched in January 2020. The electric vehicle, priced between ₹1.5-₹1.7 million (~$21,102-23,916) for different variants, is powered by a 129 PS or 127.2 brake horsepower (BHP) permanent-magnet AC motor with a high capacity 30.2 kWh lithium-ion battery and is expected to provide a driving range of over 300 kilometer on a single charge.
Mumbai’s BEST Issues Tender For 340 Electric Buses
The Brihan-Mumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) has issued a request for proposal (RfP) for the supply and operation of 140 standard AC electric buses and 200 midi AC electric buses on gross cost contract (GCC) model. The tender has been floated under the FAME India Phase-II phase in the city of Mumbai. The scope of work includes the procurement of buses along with the operation and maintenance of the routes provided by BEST. The operator should also be responsible for providing drivers and charging infrastructure for the buses along with the electricity used for charging the buses. However, the cost of setting upstream infrastructure, including electrical connection of the power load, will be borne by the power distribution company. If the power distribution company is not ready to bear this cost, in that case, BEST will bear it. The last date for the submission of bids is January 7, 2019, and the prospective bidders will have to pay a sum of ₹5,000,000 (~$70,078) as the earnest money deposit. The contract will be valid for ten years from the date of commencement of commercial operations. The bidders must quote the rates on a ‘rupees per kilometer’ basis for a monthly assured range of 4,750 km for standard AC buses and 4,200 km for midi AC electric buses. The buses should operate for 3-4 hours on a single charge. The bidders must quote the rates on a ‘rupees per kilometer’ basis for a monthly assured range of 4,750 km for standard AC buses and 4,200 km for midi AC electric buses. The buses should operate for 3-4 hours on a single charge. As for the eligibility criteria, the eligible bidder should have executed or undertaken at least one project of at least 45 buses in a single order for any state transport undertaking or government organization during the last two years. The bidder should also have a consortium with an electric bus manufacturer to ensure a smooth and successful execution of the project. Further, the electric bus manufacturer must have an electric bus manufacturing facility in India. The original equipment manufacturer should have completed testing and certification requirements under Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 of at least one electric bus from a designated testing center in India.
Only 1,309 Electric Cars Sold In India During April-Nov 2019
Electric vehicles in the Indian market has created quite a hype in recent times, just like the rest of the world. However, according to industry data and ETAuto findings, the e-cars sales number doesn’t match the hype, as only 1,309 units have sold in the first eight months (April-November) of FY20. This number translates to merely 0.07 per cent of the total PV sales in India during the same period (April-November) of the current fiscal, which were 18,82,047 units. Currently, the passenger car segment has only three fully electric models in India, which are the Tata Tigor EV, Hyundai Kona EV and Mahindra e-Verito. Mahindra has announced the phasing out of e2o electric hatchback, due to the stringent safety norms. In the last eight months, Tata Tigor EV has sold 491 units in the domestic market, with 102 of them sold in November alone. On average, the electric compact sedan has sold around 61 units every month. On the other hand, Mahindra e-Verito has sold 513 units during the April-November period of 2019, with 79 units recorded last month. The EV sold 64 units on a monthly average. A major number of these two electric compact sedan’s domestic sales are attributed to the fleet operators. Hyundai Kona that was launched in June 2019, has sold 280 units so far till November, while it registered 53 units in November, around 35 units of the monthly average.On the other hand, Mahindra e20 has recorded only 4 units in November and it sold a total of 25 units so far in the last eight months. The hatchback had the first-mover advantage, which it has lost completely.
EV Policy: Streamlining Charging Infra To Be An Uphill Task For Delhi Govt
The Delhi government is upbeat about its recently launched Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, as it targets inducting thousands of electric vehicles in the near future. But, it is yet to come out with a full-fledged plan on building a robust charging infrastructure, an issue that if not thought through could potentially impede the capital’s shift to a zero-emission transport system. According to the government’s policy it will attempt, within a year, to induct 35,000 electric vehicles (2/3/4 wheelers and buses), 1,000 EVs for last mile deliveries and also establish 250 public charging/swapping stations in the city. Speaking to IANS, Atul Goel, President URJA, the apex body which connects with 2,500 RWAs, said the organisation recently launched the Citizens Green Manifesto, which lays out 10 point demands for all political parties contesting the Delhi election. “The EV Policy for Delhi is a wonderful thing in that direction. However, any government that comes to power should make sure that there are sufficient battery recharge points at dispersed locations, residential and commercial places and parking areas of Delhi,” said Goel. He insisted that all existing goods vehicles, supported with government aid, should be converted to electric by 2025, besides 50 per cent of new vehicles registered to EV by the same year. The Delhi government has plans to provide accessible public charging/battery swapping facilities within 3 km travel from anywhere in Delhi, and it is promoting this as a key objective of the EV policy. Though the government claims that all new home and workplace parking will need to be ‘EV ready’, with 20 per cent parking required for EVs, but it is yet to clarify this in the backdrop of the existing space crunch in Delhi.
