At the launch of the e2o's social media campaign today afternoon in Mumbai, Indian Autos Blog caught up with Chetan Maini, Founder and Chief of Strategy & Technology, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.
Maini expressed that people's mindsets on electric vehicles will shift in the future, and that changing technology and oil prices would play into the hands of electric cars.
He quoted examples such as Norway and China where the electric car is becoming a regular feature in the motoring landscape. He said the volumes electric vehicles are clocking today in these countries were unexpected when he started out about 15 years ago.
We asked Maini about production plans of the Verito EV (Renault Logan to overseas readers) presented as a prototype at the Delhi Auto Expo last year. Would it be the company's second offering in India?
Chetan Maini to Indian Autos Blog -
The Verito EV was showcased and it will probably be out next year.
The Mahindra Verito EV showcased at the Auto Expo was equipped with a 72V L-Ion battery pack with charging time of 6 hours. The charging is possible through a domestic 15A, 230V socket. The motor is 29 KW AC type. This combination endows the car with a 100km range and a top speed of 86 kph. A fast charging port is provided which can charge the batteries in 75 minutes.
The transmission is a single speed, 10:83 gear ratio with four driving modes - reverse, forward, neutral and boost. Rest of the features such as seating capacity, suspension systems, braking systems and HVAC are carried over from the gasoline Verito.
Some of the Auto Expo car's specifications should hold good for the production model, but there's no confirmation on them as such.
Mahindra-REVA will launch their first electric car, the Mahindra e2o, on the 18th of March.
