GM, Reva tie up for electric small car

Auto major General Motors and Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Company have entered into a tie-up for developing an electric car which would be launched within the next 12 months.
The two companies are looking at both domestic and overseas market for the proposed electric small car based on the platform of the US car maker's Chevrolet Spark and plan to turn India into a hub for electric vehicles.
"Within 12 months from today, we will have the car on the roads. We are beginning our electric car venture with Reva on existing GM platform and the first car would be an electric Chevrolet Spark," General Motors India President and MD Karl Slym told reporters here.
He said the company has already started working on test vehicles and is currently undertaking feasibility study.
Asked about the sales target for the proposed car, Slym said: "The volumes we are talking about is in thousands and not hundreds. But that's all I can say at the moment."
Reva Electric Car Company Deputy Chairman and CTO Chetan Maini said the electric Spark would be available in a series of battery options and price points.
"Our aim is to expand the market for electric vehicles in India. This collaboration would help to streamline this and also help us grow by using GM's network," he said.
Asked if the tie-up with GM would impact sale of Reva's own brands, Maini said: "Our product lines will be complementary and we will be able to give more choices to our customers."

GM and Reva would also be targeting the export market, where the Spark is currently sold, for the new electric car. GM sells Spark in over 100 countries across the world.
"The initial focus would be on the domestic market. But with the passage of time, our overall intention is to make sure that the car can compete overseas also," Slym said.
He said the two companies are open to the option of expanding the electric model to its other cars also, but nothing has been finalised in this regard.
The currently available Chevrolet Spark with the internal combustion engine has sold over 35 lakh units across the globe.
Slym said both plants of GM India at Halol (Gujarat) and Talegaon (Maharashtra) have the capability for producing the car.
"The electric Spark would have 90 per cent localisation of components. Owners can use plug-ins at their homes to recharge the car," he said.
The Indian electric vehicle market is still at a nascent stage with only about two lakh such vehicles on the road, including 2,000 electric cars.