All-electric subcompacts have not proven to be popular in the United States, but might be just what India needs to advance its green car goals. Indian media is reporting today that Mahindra & Mahindra, the maker of the all-electric e20—pronounced “ee-too-oh”—is following through on its launch of the car in mid-March. The new Mahindra e20 will initially go on sales at the company's showrooms in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.
Mahindra had delayed the launch while it waited to see if the Indian government would offer consumer tax benefits for electric car buyers. Unfortunately, the incentives were not included in the 2013-14 Indian budget—but the company is nonetheless moving forward.
Mahindra has previously stated that the e2o will be 15 to 20 percent more expensive than best selling hatchbacks, such as the Suzuki Swift and the Hyudai i20. Exact pricing for e20 has not yet been announced.
There are conflicting reports on the web about the range and top speed of the e2o, with most sources reporting about 60 miles of range and a top speed of 50 miles per hour. However, a number of media outlets indicate the less likely range on a full charge at 100 miles, and a top speed of 65 miles per hour.
The Mahindra E20 will be manufactured in the company's Bangalore factory, producing about 30,000 per year.
“Electric vehicles today epitomize clean and green driving and Mahindra wants to take the lead in developing this segment and its surrounding eco-system,” said Pawan Goenka, Mahindra & Mahindra president. “We sincerely hope that such an initiative will find the desired support and incentives from all governmental agencies that will support us in this journey of providing clean mobility solutions.”
To assist the marketing of the e20, Mahindra set up about 100 charging stations in Delhi and Bangalore, with plans to add as any as 500 more stations in the next couple of years. Although details are scarce, the company is reportedly also offering a solar-charging unit called Sun2Car, which Mahindra says will provide free, clean energy to the car over its lifetime. The company has also talked about Car2Home, a technology more commonly referred to as vehicle-to-grid, that uses power from the car to meet home energy needs.
In August 2012, India’s National Council for Electric Mobility adopted the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. The document set a target of 6 to 7 million new electric vehicle sales by 2020. The estimated total investment would be between U.S. 3.5 and 4 billion.
The Mahindra e2O will be India’s first all-electric hatchback to compete against mainstream hatchbacks in the market.
India has 230v electrical system and most houses and businesses have 3 phase connection @ 440v. Hence building up of a charging network for electrical cars would be much easier than that in the US.
Another major advantage is that nobody in India expects a car to travel 480 kilometers (300 miles) between charges. There is hardly a concept of 'filling up' in India. You basically put 10 or 15 liters of gasoline in your car. If you do the math; 15 liters will give a range of around 225 kilometers (140 miles) in an average car giving 15km/liter. If manufacturer can produce a car with similar range it will be a sure hit in India.