Ajanta to challenge Nano with electric car - Team-BHP

sj_koova · 12th April 2008, 13:31

Looks like ugly 3 wheeler Autos are going to be phased out soon

Let us wish "Best of Luck" to Ajanta.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Ajanta_to_challenge_Nano_with_electric_car/articleshow/2942510.cms
RAJKOT: There is competition for Tata's Nano from Gujarat. The new entrant in the small car sector is the Morbi-based world famous clock-maker Ajanta group. The company is planning to manufacture an electric car at its unit at Samkhiyali in Kutch district and market it at a price lower than Rs 1-lakh Nano.

Ajanta group director Jaysukh Patel told TOI: "The company is already manufacturing electric scooters and bikes under ‘Oreva' brand. Production of electric car is not difficult for us as the technology is almost similar and 70 per cent of its parts can be produced in-house, giving us an edge over the vehicle's pricing."

The R&D team was exploring the viability of the small car project under the conditions in India, he said. Sources said the company has imported eight electric cars of different brands, and they were being tested and studied by the technical staff for necessary modification under Indian conditions."

The Ajanta group is serious in its attempt to keep the basic price of the proposed car as low as Rs 85,000. At present, in the electric car segment only Reva car is available in India.

Another player in the small car segment, the Rajkot-based Field Marshal group, is in negotiations with Australian company Farnow Technologies for a joint venture for a low cost electric car.

arunmur · 12th April 2008, 13:37

Cool. Hope they are able to make it. Was waiting for something like this from the Maini group(guys who make Reva) for a long time. But who ever is gonna make it is good.

rajneeesh · 12th April 2008, 15:40

Ajanta is a producer of low cost clocks and calculaors. These folks have no experience in the automobilie industry. I wish them all the luck and for the sake of the Indian car buying public hope that they produce a quality product which lasts more than 2 years ( a lot of their clocks and watches do not)

amitpunjani · 12th April 2008, 16:05

I think Ajanta got influenced by SMART CAR (tie up between Merc and Swiss watch). But Smart car is not cheap, comes at price of 7000 pounds (two seater).

Amit

snaronikar · 12th April 2008, 17:01

Lot of things go into making of car and its no cakewalk. Any tom, dick & harry cannot make and sell cars. My personal opinion is it cannot give any challenge to Nano as it runs on battery and it needs to be charged every 80~100 kms (I hope). Nano runs with petrol/diesel (if launched). Public cannot afford to get themselves stopped in middle of nowhere as the battery has no charge or the charge is low.

Anyways, its a good idea and worth exploring. :-)

Car-Agey · 12th April 2008, 17:15

Since Nano has been showcased, every is trying to make cheap cars, be Tara or Ajanta. I dont know how they are going to do it. TATAs spent four years in research, Renault & Hyndai are talking about a couple of years, and these people talk as if designing a car is very simple and they can do it any time they wish. Lets see what comes out of it.

vinaykiran79 · 12th April 2008, 17:49

Anybody has the pic of the Ajanta car.... Even Bavina is producing Electric cars but at around Rs 2 lakh price, they are 4 seaters and pretty good looking.

cediafan · 14th April 2008, 11:37

I think this is good news for the electric car consumers. I really like the Reva, but it is priced at upwards of 3.5 lacs. We need electric cars that can go upwards of atleast 150 kms after a single recharge. I was hoping for a bing bang from the budget this year for the electric car manufacturers, but the FM did'nt do anything apart from an excise cut for the hybrid cars.

arunmur · 24th April 2008, 06:27

An electric car with 80-100km range is good enough. It is not for the mass public who buy this as their first car. But it is for all those people who already have a car and want a cheaper, smaller and easier to drive alternative to travel within the city. If the cheapest car is 3 lakhs then only buyers of cars upwards of 15 lakhs can afford a second car but if its is at 1 lakh 5-6lakh rupee car buyers can afford a second car. In China many people use these kinds of electric cars as their first car without any problem, they will only have to rent a car if they are planning a vacation. I don't see this trend far off in India too.

How they are going to do it though is another mistery. As far as i know the batteries alone will cost them 20-25k which will become cheaper by time. For selling at 99k they must be getting the chassis free.

12th April 2008, 13:31	#1 (permalink)
sj_koova BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 127 View My Garage	Ajanta to challenge Nano with electric car Looks like ugly 3 wheeler Autos are going to be phased out soon Let us wish "Best of Luck" to Ajanta. Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Ajanta_to_challenge_Nano_with_electric_car/articleshow/2942510.cms RAJKOT: There is competition for Tata's Nano from Gujarat. The new entrant in the small car sector is the Morbi-based world famous clock-maker Ajanta group. The company is planning to manufacture an electric car at its unit at Samkhiyali in Kutch district and market it at a price lower than Rs 1-lakh Nano. Ajanta group director Jaysukh Patel told TOI: "The company is already manufacturing electric scooters and bikes under ‘Oreva' brand. Production of electric car is not difficult for us as the technology is almost similar and 70 per cent of its parts can be produced in-house, giving us an edge over the vehicle's pricing." The R&D team was exploring the viability of the small car project under the conditions in India, he said. Sources said the company has imported eight electric cars of different brands, and they were being tested and studied by the technical staff for necessary modification under Indian conditions." The Ajanta group is serious in its attempt to keep the basic price of the proposed car as low as Rs 85,000. At present, in the electric car segment only Reva car is available in India. Another player in the small car segment, the Rajkot-based Field Marshal group, is in negotiations with Australian company Farnow Technologies for a joint venture for a low cost electric car. __________________ -------- Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac. -------- Cheers SJ

12th April 2008, 17:01	#5 (permalink)
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,507 View My Garage	Lot of things go into making of car and its no cakewalk. Any tom, dick & harry cannot make and sell cars. My personal opinion is it cannot give any challenge to Nano as it runs on battery and it needs to be charged every 80~100 kms (I hope). Nano runs with petrol/diesel (if launched). Public cannot afford to get themselves stopped in middle of nowhere as the battery has no charge or the charge is low. Anyways, its a good idea and worth exploring. :-) __________________ Love your job but Never love your company because you never know when your company stops loving you-NRN Last edited by snaronikar : 12th April 2008 at 17:03.

12th April 2008, 17:49	#7 (permalink)
vinaykiran79 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 63	Any Photos Anybody has the pic of the Ajanta car.... Even Bavina is producing Electric cars but at around Rs 2 lakh price, they are 4 seaters and pretty good looking.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Help for Ajanta Ellora Trip	manaa45	Route / Travel Queries	5	1st March 2008 17:02
2 Lakh Electric Car ?	esteem_lover	The Indian Car Scene!!	56	12th February 2008 15:24
Reva Electric Car is the highest selling electric car in the world	navdeep	The Indian Car Scene!!	29	23rd June 2007 20:21
Controls in electric car	sbasak	Technical Stuff	4	20th December 2005 17:46

12th April 2008, 13:37	#2 (permalink)
arunmur BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 79	Cool. Hope they are able to make it. Was waiting for something like this from the Maini group(guys who make Reva) for a long time. But who ever is gonna make it is good.

12th April 2008, 15:40	#3 (permalink)
rajneeesh BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: noida Posts: 218	Ajanta is a producer of low cost clocks and calculaors. These folks have no experience in the automobilie industry. I wish them all the luck and for the sake of the Indian car buying public hope that they produce a quality product which lasts more than 2 years ( a lot of their clocks and watches do not)

12th April 2008, 16:05	#4 (permalink)
amitpunjani BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 86	I think Ajanta got influenced by SMART CAR (tie up between Merc and Swiss watch). But Smart car is not cheap, comes at price of 7000 pounds (two seater). Amit

12th April 2008, 17:15	#6 (permalink)
Car-Agey BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 210	Since Nano has been showcased, every is trying to make cheap cars, be Tara or Ajanta. I dont know how they are going to do it. TATAs spent four years in research, Renault & Hyndai are talking about a couple of years, and these people talk as if designing a car is very simple and they can do it any time they wish. Lets see what comes out of it.

14th April 2008, 11:37	#8 (permalink)
cediafan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 94	I think this is good news for the electric car consumers. I really like the Reva, but it is priced at upwards of 3.5 lacs. We need electric cars that can go upwards of atleast 150 kms after a single recharge. I was hoping for a bing bang from the budget this year for the electric car manufacturers, but the FM did'nt do anything apart from an excise cut for the hybrid cars.

24th April 2008, 06:27	#9 (permalink)
arunmur BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 79	An electric car with 80-100km range is good enough. It is not for the mass public who buy this as their first car. But it is for all those people who already have a car and want a cheaper, smaller and easier to drive alternative to travel within the city. If the cheapest car is 3 lakhs then only buyers of cars upwards of 15 lakhs can afford a second car but if its is at 1 lakh 5-6lakh rupee car buyers can afford a second car. In China many people use these kinds of electric cars as their first car without any problem, they will only have to rent a car if they are planning a vacation. I don't see this trend far off in India too. How they are going to do it though is another mistery. As far as i know the batteries alone will cost them 20-25k which will become cheaper by time. For selling at 99k they must be getting the chassis free.