Electric vehicles in India- Quick news update

During my earlier review of Mahindra Reva e2o, I wrote about problems w.r.t electric vehicle ecosystem and infrastructure that are limiting the sales of electric vehicles. This post shares few updates related to the topic.

1 Ford working on electric car with solar roof panel
Ford is reportedly working on electric+solar combined cars. In their C-MAX Solar Energi Concept, Ford is making electric car more practical by adding solar panels on the roof,which would feed the battery, thus adding more range to the car. This may take a few years to may be even a decade before it reaches mass market, but it is a step in right direction. I wish best of luck to the efforts

2 No BMW all electric i3 for India
Unlike the news published in end of October last year, latest news is that luxury car maker BMW has decided not to introduce the all electric i3 car in India, due to lack of charging infrastructure in India 

3 Electric conversion kit for Petrol/Diesel cars by EVI
Meanwhile I learnt about a startup called Electric Vehicles India, based out of Mumbai, is enabling conversion of cars into electric ones or hybrid ones. They sell conversion kits, which can be used on both new and existing vehicles. When possible, you can charge the battery and run your car on electricity. But if situation demands, you can revert back to petrol/diesel engine and drive on fossil fuel.

I understand they are currently looking to work with OEMs and corporate fleets and will soon be available to cater to individual car owners, once they expand their network or add channel partners/dealers.

I wish all the success for this startup, founded by Priyank Dahanukar

4 Govt may roll out subsidies for electric cars by April 2014
There is a govt of India plan to roll out subsidies for electric cars, expected to be effective from April 2014. If you're planning to buy an electric car, you might wish to wait for few months to see if this really happens. 

5 Even Hertz Bangalore is offering a Reva e2o on self drive rental
Noticed that CarzonRent (Hertz India franchise) is also offering a Reva on self drive rental in Bengaluru... Zoomcar already offers one.

6 No Tata Nano electric vehicle in sight
Tata Motors had shown an electric variant of Nano in 2010 Geneva motor show. But there's been no news after that. 4 years later, there's no sign or news of an electric Nano. Presumably the poor sales has resulted in reduced R&D spend and there's no hybrid Nano expected in near future