Next generation Reva all set to hit the roads

New Delhi
Chetan Maini, Founder & CTO, REVA Electric Car Company, in a short talk to IndianExpress.com tells Ashok Kumar about the next generation Reva.
Known in the Indian auto sector as a technology
innovator Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), a Bangalore based firm
formed as a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV LLC of
California is all set to launch the latest version of the pollution
free electric car.



Having been commercialized in June 2001, Reva is
committed towards promoting environmentally and socially responsible
motoring across the globe, and stands as a pioneering electric vehicle
for the city mobility.
RECC is all set to launch its next generation
variant of the electric vehicle which would be commercially available
around 2009. This new avatar of Reva is said to be powered by Lithium
Ion Batteries and are capable of covering a range of up to 120
kilometers per charge which is significantly higher compared to the 80
kilometers per charge of the earlier version.
What gives an edge to this latest version of Reva
is an additional provision of the roof mounted solar power panels,
enabling the vehicle to harness the sun’s energy and further augment
drive power and achieve the increased range.
Chetan Kumar Maini, founder & CTO, Reva
Electric Car Company has over 15 years work experience in developing
over 6 solar, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in the United States and
India. Talking about the next generation technology enabled Reva, Maini
explained how technology is the driving aspect to keep him continuously
motivated in this venture. “With the next generation cars, Reva has
once again proved its technology leadership and highlighted the role of
electric vehicles as one of the viable transport options to battle
environmental issues,” Maini asserted.
When asked why the car has a limited success in
the country, commercially, despite being a zero polluting vehicle and
having a low running cost, Maini attributed the cause to the low
popularity of the electric vehicles and the concept being
non-traditional for the Indian market.
Bangalore based RECC which has an installed
capacity of 6000 units and over 275 employees has over 3000 vehicles on
the road and is also being test marketed in countries in South America,
South East Asia and Europe. Maini sounded quite positive talking about
the future prospects of the sale of the electric car. “We are going to
focus more on popularizing the car and its merits. This year we should
close around 1000 cars and for the next year the target is 4000 cars,”
Maini said.

Thanks for the information.

What's the source?

sorry, forgot to add the source
here it is
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news

Good info. But still Maini thinks that the eletric concept hasn't been well received and that's the reason for Reva not popular? It is price. Who would buy a car for 4 lacs with only two seats and impractical?

IMO this thing wont work till the price is brought down.

Yup I agree with you folks. Reva is extremely costly for what it offers. The electric motor is a boon for city driving and the light dimensions add to practicality. Only the price needs to be cut for it to succeed.

guys thats the reason we are seeing maruti,tata and mahindra working on hybrid techonology, which would generally get the costs down to affordable.Reva didnt sold in large numbers is pricing being the key factor, nearly 3.7 to 4l on road price is too high for two seater car.

@VJ, It not only flopped because of its pricing, but also because of its bad A.S.S. I went to check out the Reva and wanted to find the showroom. I found one from Carazoo and went there to discover that no such showroom existed there. Reva should really take steps to improve dealer networks.

first time every i saw a reva displayed in reliance digital, which is te largest electronics store in hyderabad, the thing i observed in it is that it has a rear seat but the leg space was very less, we cant even manage to fit a 1year old baby's legs in there

napster wrote:first time every i saw a reva displayed in reliance digital, which is te largest electronics store in hyderabad, the thing i observed in it is that it has a rear seat but the leg space was very less, we cant even manage to fit a 1year old baby's legs in there

It is a pure 2 seater. The rear seats are for fancy purpose.

Any updates, Info on new Reva?

RoadRocket

nothing new,no pdates yet..will post if i find any

Hope the updated Reva is priced reasonably.

I hate the Reva ! In fact it doesn't even look like a car..so cramped..eeks..

I feel that the Reva's cramped dimensions make it a fun drive in the city.

it is fun with that dimention to drive but being overpriced, didnt sold well here.

it sure does but the pickup it has is stupid, by the time you start pickingup everyone else overtakes you or keeps honking at you

napster wrote:it sure does but the pickup it has is stupid, by the time you start pickingup everyone else overtakes you or keeps honking at you

after all its an electric car. not meant for racing. just meant for saving fuel bills. this car should be only bought if you really want to save mother earth. ;)

I just hope that the upcoming Reva is powerful enough to become a little more 'racy'.

im_hummer_freak wrote:

napster wrote:it sure does but the pickup it has is stupid, by the time you start pickingup everyone else overtakes you or keeps honking at you

after all its an electric car. not meant for racing. just meant for saving fuel bills. this car should be only bought if you really want to save mother earth. ;)

thats true, saving mother nature is very important, and that is why new norms are being introduced :)

dcargod wrote:I just hope that the upcoming Reva is powerful enough to become a little more 'racy'.

im sure reva can never be racy, unless its equipped with a v4atleast..lol

If the new Reva had the peppy nature in city with enough grunt to keep up with the traffic, its volume in sales will increase. Something in the league of 800 or even Nano.

I feel that Reva can use its electric motor to be peppy in traffic where other petrol/diesel cars will loose out. This is because electric motors are capable of developing maximum torque from the beginning, whereas petrol/diesel motors have to be revved a little to get moving.

Crazy cat wrote:If the new Reva had the peppy nature in city with enough grunt to keep up with the traffic, its volume in sales will increase. Something in the league of 800 or even Nano.

Still it wouldn't work, They should first consider reducing its price.

A pic of Reva's brouchure -


RoadRocket

dcargod wrote:I feel that Reva can use its electric motor to be peppy in traffic where other petrol/diesel cars will loose out. This is because electric motors are capable of developing maximum torque from the beginning, whereas petrol/diesel motors have to be revved a little to get moving.

Its topspeed is only 64kph and they it lacks the power after 40kph. They might be responsive, but they can't outrun other cars.

Road Rocket wrote:

Crazy cat wrote:If the new Reva had the peppy nature in city with enough grunt to keep up with the traffic, its volume in sales will increase. Something in the league of 800 or even Nano.

Still it wouldn't work, They should first consider reducing its price.



RoadRocket

I'm not telling it would be a hit, i'm just saying that its sales will increase with that.

80%charge in 2.5hrs and full charge in 8hours?
isnt that weird