Reva Electric Car Co. (Bangalore, India) reported plans to ramp up its production and roll out 1,500 to 2,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2002, and 12,000 vehicles a year by 2004. The new company, just a year old, has already sold 220 vehicles, and with a capacity to produce 5,000 units per annum, is presently producing 60 cars a month with plans to increase the amount to 150 cars a month by September 2002.
Six years in development, the company's REVA vehicle has been tested for a year in cities like Bangalore and Pune before its formal launch. The vehicle weighs 740kg; runs 65km to 80km on a single charge of nine units of electricity, working out to just 40 paise per kilometer; and has no gears, clutch, engine, carburetor, gearbox or exhaust. The REVA's power pack batteries were developed by Exide Technologies (Princeton, NJ) and are manufactured in India through Exide subsidiary Tudor India.
"India has an excellent opportunity of exploiting existing EV technology, which is most suitable to its current needs of city mobility. The government can play the role of a catalyst, integrating the efforts for the EV industry for the effective utilization of our resources. Industry and government can act together to create a leading, globally competitive, India-based EV industry," stated Reva Electric Managing Director Chetan Maini.
