<p>India’s only electric car company Mahindra Reva, part of the $16.9-billion Mahindra Group, has hinted at plans to take its ‘e2o’ to European markets, which offer a range of opportunities in the area of electric mobility.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Talking to Deccan Herald on Monday, Mahindra Reva Chief Executive Officer Arvind Mathew said, “The year 2015 has been a good year. The FAME India initiative (started by the Centre) has been a good step forward, and supportive to the cause of electric cars.”<br /><br />In terms of expanding the e2o’s market reach overseas, he hinted, “Currently, we sell the e2o in Nepal. Going forward, we will explore other markets. Western European countries are interesting markets, and already have some presence of electric cars.” <br /> <br />It must be noted that Europe has taken a lead in quick adoption of electric mobility, especially with cities like London, Oslo, and Amsterdam, being at the forefront of electric car popularity. <br /><br />The UK, for instance, had 9,379 public charging points at 3,561 locations, of which 1,536 were rapid charging stations, as of October 2015. Yet, when competing in a market dominated by traditional fuel cars, electric cars are yet to transform their niche into a fast-growth segment.<br /><br />In India too, electric cars have seen slow growth, owing to dearth in dedicated required infrastructure, and a not-so-competitive pricing. Until now, the country has seen a measly 5,500 electric cars on its roads, since the rollout of the first model ‘Reva’ car in 2001. <br /><br />“One of the biggest deterrents in India is related to infrastructure, as there are no sufficient charging stations available on the way. Also, people have a lot of misconceptions about electric cars — their range, their usage, their reliability, and so forth. And it is important that awareness about electric cars be spread among people,” Mathew said.<br /><br />The company, however, claims that people have lately been showing more interest in buying electric cars (e2o), thanks to several advantages — the cars are pollution-free, easy to drive, and they are 10 times cheaper to run than that of conventional gasoline cars.<br /><br />Nationwide drive held<br />In order to boost the awareness of electric mobility, and to test the limits of the e2o, the company held a nationwide expedition recently. The Mahindra Reva Goodness Drive — Kashmir to Kanyakumari — held from November 16 over a 30-day period, covered a distance of 5,300 km, touching 52 locations. <br /><br />“By traversing this vast distance, our car has dispelled anxiety among customers and demonstrated the car’s ability to handle all kinds of terrain,” Mathew claimed. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the company has not slowed down its momentum in exploring more options in the electric mobility space. Mahindra Reva has run pilot projects on Mahindra’s conventional products Verito and Maxximo, by electrifying them.<br /><br /> The electric variants of these two vehicles are expected to hit the market some time, next year.</p>
<p>India’s only electric car company Mahindra Reva, part of the $16.9-billion Mahindra Group, has hinted at plans to take its ‘e2o’ to European markets, which offer a range of opportunities in the area of electric mobility.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Talking to Deccan Herald on Monday, Mahindra Reva Chief Executive Officer Arvind Mathew said, “The year 2015 has been a good year. The FAME India initiative (started by the Centre) has been a good step forward, and supportive to the cause of electric cars.”<br /><br />In terms of expanding the e2o’s market reach overseas, he hinted, “Currently, we sell the e2o in Nepal. Going forward, we will explore other markets. Western European countries are interesting markets, and already have some presence of electric cars.” <br /> <br />It must be noted that Europe has taken a lead in quick adoption of electric mobility, especially with cities like London, Oslo, and Amsterdam, being at the forefront of electric car popularity. <br /><br />The UK, for instance, had 9,379 public charging points at 3,561 locations, of which 1,536 were rapid charging stations, as of October 2015. Yet, when competing in a market dominated by traditional fuel cars, electric cars are yet to transform their niche into a fast-growth segment.<br /><br />In India too, electric cars have seen slow growth, owing to dearth in dedicated required infrastructure, and a not-so-competitive pricing. Until now, the country has seen a measly 5,500 electric cars on its roads, since the rollout of the first model ‘Reva’ car in 2001. <br /><br />“One of the biggest deterrents in India is related to infrastructure, as there are no sufficient charging stations available on the way. Also, people have a lot of misconceptions about electric cars — their range, their usage, their reliability, and so forth. And it is important that awareness about electric cars be spread among people,” Mathew said.<br /><br />The company, however, claims that people have lately been showing more interest in buying electric cars (e2o), thanks to several advantages — the cars are pollution-free, easy to drive, and they are 10 times cheaper to run than that of conventional gasoline cars.<br /><br />Nationwide drive held<br />In order to boost the awareness of electric mobility, and to test the limits of the e2o, the company held a nationwide expedition recently. The Mahindra Reva Goodness Drive — Kashmir to Kanyakumari — held from November 16 over a 30-day period, covered a distance of 5,300 km, touching 52 locations. <br /><br />“By traversing this vast distance, our car has dispelled anxiety among customers and demonstrated the car’s ability to handle all kinds of terrain,” Mathew claimed. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the company has not slowed down its momentum in exploring more options in the electric mobility space. Mahindra Reva has run pilot projects on Mahindra’s conventional products Verito and Maxximo, by electrifying them.<br /><br /> The electric variants of these two vehicles are expected to hit the market some time, next year.</p>