[CtrlAltDel]

Reva is not popular not only for its price and range but also for its seating capacity. it is worth having it as a second car in the family for short trips to the market or to drop kids at school or even commuting if the office is not too far. it cannot be used as the main car in the family. how many families in the country have more than one car? to the majority a single car is an investment made after careful planning and there is no question of having a second car.

in this respect, an electric indica would have an advantage. TATA should work on making it lighter so that the heavy battery components wont make it a lethargic machine.

in the last budget the govt. had announced steep reduction in excise for hybrid and electric cars made in india. this was the reason why the imported Civic Hybrid doesnt enjoy the tax advantage. hopefully Indica would.

setting up infrastructure like battery replacement/charging stations is also necessary and more importantly the power situation has to be improved.

[srh]

I think that this is a nice strategic move by TATA. Competing with the global biggies in the traditional market of IC engined cars will be extremely difficult, risky and resource crunching. By getting into EV's TATA will be able to attack from the flanks and become a major player in a niche market. If the EV market grows in the future, then TATA can move to being a major player in the entire market.

[zenx]

My guess is the best side-effect of this news will be that Maini accelerates its plans for a bigger, better, cheaper Reva with a longer range.

[nitrous]

News from a reliable source, the Indica vista is gonna come with electric power.

[GTO]

Current levels of battery technology is the largest obstacle to the success of electric cars, whether its the Reva, Indica or other. Until there are giant leaps in tech which offer longer ranges + compact packaging, electric cars will not be a practical alternative.

Apparently not more than 2 - 3 years away though .

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by GTO

Current levels of battery technology is the largest obstacle to the success of electric cars,

and costs a bomb too. I think they should work on a Hybrid one first. Electricity storage requirement would be much lower in that case. Also you need a much smaller electric motor.

I always believed the technology involved in hybrid engines is not complex. So why are the companies not bringing it

[tushky]

so Tata Is going to showcase Indica Vista EV at Geneva motor show.
here is the link
INDICA VISTA EV - Geneva 2009 - 79th International Motor Show

the site also says that there will be WORLD NANO from tata which is spacious car - an aggressively styled, environment friendly, safe and fuel efficient companion for an urban lifestyle.

[loving_alaap]

7 lacs + !!!

Well this price must be an obstacle for its success (just like Reva & Civic Hybrid)

Tata must keep it around 5 lacs if they want to sell in a good number.

[vijaythacker]

7Lacs + is surely on the higher side for an electric run vehicle, instead they should work first on hybrid fuel system along with its electric vehicles, but its a good move by tata to take a leap in this segment as only reva is on offer as for now in electric vehicle which falls behind in space it offers.

[Samir Taheer]

These electric cars are great, but what about the source of this electrical energy? How polluting is that?

Should'nt we first have the infrastructure in place, before launching these cars?

In the UK they plan to launch the new Reva with increased travel distance.

[TeddyBear]

Originally Posted by Samir Taheer

These electric cars are great, but what about the source of this electrical energy? How polluting is that?

Should'nt we first have the infrastructure in place, before launching these cars?

In the UK they plan to launch the new Reva with increased travel distance.

Infrastructure? I guess every one has power at home. It should be used better than the Reva as it is a proper car and provides best mileage using Li Polymer.

Pollution, as long as it is using centralized generated power, it is less polluted. One shouldn't be using local power generator to charge it .
Every Car pollutes with some measures, even it is powered by solar power panel or Battery. as production and disposal are harm to the earth.

<<7 lacs + !!!
If a Car with Safety measures - AirBag, ABS+EBD then it is worth. Are they using energy retrieval when break applied? or should be expecting EV-2?

[Samir Taheer]

What i meant by Infrastructure is charging points around a city and more consistant supply of power. Yes i would think everyones got power at home, but for how many hours a day? Some cities or most have Load Shedding, we should be providing uninterupted power to the homes before powering electric cars.

Pollution - I know everything pollutes, but the original source of electricity is polluting enough. My point was, it not as green as its made out to be. You're still burning oil somewhere.

I think the new Revas were going to use some form of regenerative breaking. And i dont think its got any safety measures. If i remember right 5th gear did a crash test on the Reva and the outcome was - all, well the two passengers died. I think the test was done at 30mph, since it would be mainly used for city driving.

[avishar]

Their should be a cradle to grave approach when comes to designing "green cars".At the end of the day the electric power is coming from large,polluting thermal plants.It is not the case in Japan or France because majority of the power source is derived from nuclear power unlike in India.IMO Indian manufacturers should focus on developing clean,efficient powertrains.

[aaggoswami]

Sorry for digging up this old thread, but I came across some news.
This news is about about Electric Indica coming in one year or so. May be we can expect a glimpse of production model in Auto Expo 2010.

Source : Electric Indica within 12-14 months: Tata

Article :

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors on Tuesday said it will launch an electric version of the Indica hatchback
in the domestic and overseas market in the next 12-14 months. "It (the electric Indica) will be available for launching in the country simultaneously with the global launch," Tata Motors MD (India operation) PM Telang said.

The country's largest auto company has been developing the electric Indica with a Norwegian firm for launching in the British, Norwegian and Danish markets by 2011, which will mark the global launch of the car. Telang said Tata Motors will start a feasibility study by next year for introducing the product in the domestic market.

Asked if the company has initiated the market study, he said, "not at the moment. We will start (the feasibility study) closer to when we have the product ready. We will do it from next year."

[PhiGolden]

Originally Posted by avishar

Their should be a cradle to grave approach when comes to designing "green cars".At the end of the day the electric power is coming from large,polluting thermal plants.It is not the case in Japan or France because majority of the power source is derived from nuclear power unlike in India.IMO Indian manufacturers should focus on developing clean,efficient powertrains.

Me too. The more the number of times energy is made to transfer form, the more will be the loss.

The following link I food very useful. Gives a good understating of ‘well to wheel’ efficiencies of IC engines.

Improving IC Engine Efficiency