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-   -   Electric car to hit roads in Sept 2009: Ratan Tata (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/electric-cars/59855-electric-car-hit-roads-sept-2009-ratan-tata.html)

NEW YORK: Indian conglomerate Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has said that Tata Motors will have an electric car in the market by September this year.

"We will have an electric car in the market in September," Tata was quoted as saying by Cornell University on its micro-blogging feed on Twitter. Tata is also a Cornell trustee.

He talked about the electric car at the Cornell Global Forum on Sustainable Global Enterprise organised by the university.

In 2008, Ratan Tata speaking at the Annual General Meeting of Tata Motors said that the company was developing an electric car.

Foreign media also reported quoting Tata at the forum that Tata Nano, dubbed as the world's cheapest car, is expected to be available in the US in the next two years.

The much-awaited Nano was commercially launched in March in India and is expected to hit the roads soon.

According to the university website, the Tata Education and Development Trust committed USD 50 million to Cornell in October 2008 to establish the Tata Scholarship Fund for Students from India and the Tata-Cornell Initiative in Agriculture and Nutrition, intended to improve the lives and livelihoods of India's rural poor.

Source[ET]

I think the Electric Car in question is Tata Indica and it is going to hit Norwegian roads in September.

not in India ?? But on a hindsight, better release it in Europe under strich quality norms. Then release the refined version in India.

And it costs 25,000 pounds. Still excited?

Tata has mentioned that the electric car would be solely for exports due to "lack of infrastructure" in India for electric cars.

No way! It won't sell.

now this might appear a bit out-of-topic, but why are the biggies not developing what could be called bolt-on "hybrid modules" which can be just added onto the existing IC engine platforms? the systems could turn out to be slightly cheaper than making a full blown electric vehicle (read Tesla Roadster)- good for the company since modular systems are easy and cheap to manufacture and good for buyers since they would drive home a hybrid at much cheaper prices. (pl. correct me if i am wrong)

also, reliable kits to convert gas-guzzlers to EVs are available freakin' everywhere except our subcontinent - although slightly costlier to buy and install (from experienced engineers/technicians), they give FE's of approx above 80kmpl -> cheap enough? a 20HP advancd DC motor, a 400~600Ah power pack and a PLC with VFD controller - hardly any tech involved even for a plain B.E. (electricals)

its only the Indian masses (who have only seen the Reva and who dont want to go electric due to their stupid fear of lower power and sad cosmetics) that the EV's wont bloom here atleast for next 3-4 years :Frustrati

More Diesel/Petrol cars in India, More bad air, More bad lungs, More disease, More premature deaths, More deaths, Rash Driving, More accidents, More deaths, Cycle continues..........after that I can Peacefully drive my EV.

Electric cars would result in the same pollution. After all most of electricity is generated by burning coal (in India).

agreed that electricity production from coal is not very clean either - but the pollution generated therein is localized and can be managed better than having multiple ic engines spewing fire here and there (using hardly 40% of the energy trapped in the fuel); also the heat discharged from the power-plants is used in other different applications including process heating thereby increasing useful work obtained from the same amount of fuel; whereas in cars, the only work that exhausts can do is operate the turbo.

AND
"remember India has more coal than oil":thumbs up:thumbs up

plus, if you get nuclear/hydro/solar power to augment the power-grids, we definitely have less CO2 in our lungs!

(PS: not sure if this post fits in this thread - mods, pl. advise)

I feel more that any of these "Honda Insight" is the real car for the future. Not some of these compromising hybirds or the so called Telstra Roadster. What is the point in using a car if it takes one full day to charge it up and you drain it all in lets say 200kms. Though lot of things have to change to accomodate such a car, especially the cost of production of these machines as well as the Liquid hydrogen has to furthur reduce, so as to reach to the common masses. But when I say that , even the normal electric car is still far away from reaching the common masses.

I don't think so. Following is what Ratan Tata said in reply to Charlie Rose.

Quote:

When Mr. Rose pressed Mr. Tata to discuss the car, the Indian business leader joked, “Let me try not to eat up the whole show.” Then he described how he originally conceived of the Nano as an affordable, safer alternative for Indian families who typically travel together on scooters at night—at first as a larger car without doors. The catch? The final version looks sleek, will cost only $2,500, seats up to five people, and just so happens to run at 65 miles per gallon. Although the Nano will be going on sale only in India next month, when Mr. Rose asked if it might go on sale in America, Mr. Tata coyly replied, “In the next two years”—once the Nano meets all the U.S. government’s emission and craft standards. Mr. Tata added later that he is planning to release the car’s electric counterpart in September—in India.

The Car in question was Tata Nano, therefore its electric counterpart would be Electric Nano.

Source:Will Tatas Take Manhattan? And Will They Save the World? | The New York Observer

A three door version is also in offing.

Quote:

After 203,000 firm orders, Indian automaker Tata found out that most buyers had opted for the more expensive variants of the Nano: only 20 percent of orders have been placed for the base model. The consequence is that Tata is considering a new strategy for the Nano, introducing new variants to make it even more attractive for the local market. One of the most important features will be the introduction of a new 0.8-liter diesel engine, developed by German company FEV. A three-door version of the Nano, an idea that was originally rejected, is also in the works. Plans for the European versions are, so far, unchanged, but will surely benefit from the diesel variant.

Source:REPORT: Tata may add diesel engine and three-door version to the Nano

I can tell you for sure that it is not Nano. Nano petrol itself hasn't hit the roads yet, so there is no question of a Nano electric hitting the roads in september. There is no electric Nano prototypes or concept cars. What is available, however, is a Indica electric car. It has been displayed in the Geneva auto show along with Nano Europa. Ratan Tata said in another interview that Indica will start selling in Norway starting this september.
Two reasons why:
1. The Norwegian govt. gives heavy discounts and tax breaks for alternative fuel vehicles which will make Indica cost on par with petrol vehicles.
2. A Norwegian company and a US company are involved in the electric indica project. It has been already tested in the Norway. So it makes sense for Tata to test out its new product close to where it can sell more numbers and have parts available.

There is a video of Ratan Tata's press conf. in Geneva Auto show where he mentioned it.

+1. The indica vista has got an electric version to it. the nano is only in petrol and any thoughts about the electric version will be a while away and could go the Indica vista EV way. It'll reach europe before here.

Any updates on this ?

I do not know whether to wait for this, or buy the existing Nano please: