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Mahindra e2o

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For the later 4-door electric vehicle, see Mahindra e2o Plus.
Mahindra e2o
Overview
ManufacturerMahindra Electric
Also calledReva NXR
Production2013–2017
AssemblyBangalore, Karnataka, India
Body and chassis
ClassCity car
Body style3-door hatchback
Powertrain
Electric motor3 phase induction motor[1]
Battery11 to 16kWh Li-ion[1]
Range120 km (75 mi)[1]
Dimensions
Length3280 mm[1]
Width1514 mm[1]
Height1560[1]
Curb weight830 kg (1,830 lb)[1]
Chronology
SuccessorMahindra e2o Plus

The Mahindra e2o, previously Reva NXR, is an urban electric car hatchback manufactured by Mahindra Reva or Reva Electric Vehicles in 2013–2017. The e2o is the successor of the REVAi (or G-Wiz as it was known in the UK)[2] and was developed using Reva's technology, and has a range of 120 km (75 mi).[1]

In 2006, the G-Wiz became the world's best-selling electric vehicle[3] and by 2008, the company managed to sell over 950 G-Wiz electric cars, making it the UK's best-selling electric car of all time at that time (the record was later surpassed by the Nissan LEAF, with over 14,000 sold by 2016; the LEAF was in turn surpassed by the Mitsubishi Outlander, with over 23,000 sold in the UK by the end of 2016).[4]

The e2o, a two-door, four-seater hatchback, is equipped with features like automatic transmission and allows the buyer to lock the car and operate the air conditioning using a mobile application. According to Forbes, the car "will inoculate its buyers from rising gas prices, provide relief from tailpipe exhaust on India’s polluted streets, and provide a much more convenient and cost effective alternative for the urban city driving."[5]

In 2013, the firm had plans to launch the e2o in the European market during the first quarter of 2014,[6] but the UK launch actually occurred much later, in April 2016.[7]

The car was discontinued in India in November 2016, coinciding with the start of production of the larger e2o Plus, though Mahindra Electric CEO announced that "the e2o will continue to sell in the export market".[8]

The e2o was retired from UK market in May 2017 due to poor sales and trading situation under Brexit, the company bought back at full price the cars from customers.[9]

Company history

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Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, formerly known as the Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), was founded in 1994 by Chetan Maini, as a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bengaluru and Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies (AEVT Inc.) of the US. The company's sole aim was to develop and produce an affordable compact electric car. Several other automakers were also aiming to do so, but in 2001 RECC launched the REVA electric car, the company's flagship vehicle, which was available in 26 countries with more than 4,000 of its versions sold worldwide by mid March 2011.

Reva was acquired by Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra in May 2010. In 2013, Mahindra Reva was selected as one of "The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2013″ by Fast Company.[10]

Since inception, the company has come to be regarded as a pioneer in the electric vehicles space.[11]

Product history

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Rear-quarter view of the REVA NXR concept exhibited at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Reva NXR M1 class electric concept car was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Production was initially scheduled for late 2010 with deliveries slated for early 2011;[12] export production was initially scheduled for 2012. It was later rescheduled for late 2012 only for the Indian market, and took place in March 2013 [13] when the Mahindra e2o was launched.[14]

According to the company, the market launch was delayed while waiting for the Indian government to decide if it would offer consumer tax benefits for electric car buyers. The incentives were not included in the 2013-14 Indian government budget, but the company decided to go ahead with the market launch. The company expects Delhi to become the biggest market for the e2o because the city offers a 29% subsidy for the purchase of electric cars. The company has already set up over 250 charging stations in various cities, with 95 in Delhi and over 100 in Bengaluru.[15][16]

The Mahindra e2o was expected to be available with either lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries. The car's exterior concept was initiated in collaboration with DC Design, and detailed design of production exterior and interior styling was done in-house by Reva's R&D and Styling team.[citation needed]

Range, speed, safety and interior specifications fall along the lines of a new generation of battery electric vehicles. In Europe, the process might start with Mahindra e2o undergoing M1 categorisation. The earlier Reva was exempted from most European crash test rules because of its low weight and power, and it was registered in the European ‘heavy quadricycle’ category instead of the ‘car’ category. Now the Mahindra e2o like any other car sold in Europe, has to have a crash test, ABS and airbags.[17] The Mahindra e2o however, passed all safety tests in 2013 when it was crash tested in Spain.[18]

Roof-mounted solar panels of the REVA NXR concept.

The Mahindra e2o has features like a REVive battery charging system. Through the telematic remote access to the car's on-board Energy Management System, the company's support centre can individually determine the battery condition and allow access to a small reserve charge. Mahindra e2o is manufactured through processes that do not pollute all the way from the design stage in India's first Platinum certified automobile plant. The facility itself is naturally lit and ventilated, uses LED lights, recycles, gets 35 percent of its power from solar panels and is claimed to be 60-70 percent more efficient than a conventional facility. Much like a modern-day smartphone, the Mahindra e2o has functions that can be powered remotely. Remote diagnostics through telematics monitors the e2o on a daily basis giving instant diagnosis of any existing or impending problems. A smartphone app provides information of the car's state of charge, and even sends a reminder for its various functions. One can remotely lock and unlock the car, start and stop charging, turn the car on and off, switch the air conditioning on and off and even set a schedule using the smartphone app.[19]

There are other ingenious technologies that have been incorporated in the e2o such as Sun2Car, and Regenerative braking system that further boost the car's range. The Sun2Car, for instance, allows people to charge the e2o using solar energy while it's parked.[20] The regenerative braking technology puts energy back into the car's batteries and charges them every time the brake is applied.[21]

Specifications

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The car has a lithium-ion battery pack that takes five hours for a full charge, and with a weight of 830 kg (1,830 lb), delivers a range of 120 km (75 mi) and a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). The e2o is one of the more advanced cars on Indian roads, with smartphone-controlled features, GPS navigation system and a dashboard-mounted touchscreen, keyless entry, start/stop button, and regenerative braking. According to the company, the car's safety features comply with European norms.[15][22]

Production and sales

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A Mahindra e2o in Kathmandu, Nepal.
A Mahindra REVA dealership in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Mahindra e2o is manufactured at the company's Bengaluru factory. The company invested ₹100 crore (US$18.5 million) on the development of the car and construction of a manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 units a year, and initially projected to sell only about 400 to 500 units a month, with Delhi accounting with about 150 to 200 units.[15] Due to delays in the roll-out of the central government incentives, in November 2013 the company announced it was scaling back plans to release of other electric vehicles, and reported that by mid November only about 400 units have been sold in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[23]

The Mahindra e2o was launched in India in March 2013 at a price between ₹6.5 lakh (US$11,900) to ₹8.5 lakh (US$15,670) depending on the city and before any subsidy.[15][24]

As a response to lower sales than initially expected, the e2o Premium variant was launched in August 2014 [25] with Electric Power steering and 120 km range upgrade 120 km (75 mi) at 5.72 lakh INR (ex- showroom Delhi) with a monthly energy fee of Rs. 2,999. The energy fee has been rechristened as “e2o care protection plan”.[26]

To address consumer concerns of high initial acquisition cost, Mahindra Reva introduced an ownership program, “Goodbye Fuel, Hello Electric”. The program splits the acquisition cost into initial cost and e2o care protection plan.[27] Under this program, the company would guarantee the performance of the battery as the ownership of the battery lies with Mahindra Reva. The company will also provide the 24X7 assistance and a courtesy car during battery repair period.[28]

Mahindra e2o has also been launched in countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bermuda.[29][30][31]

Sustainable mobility solutions[buzzword]

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Besides manufacturing, the company is also involved in developing energy solutions[buzzword] for sustainable mobility, notably Sun2Car, Car2Home and Quick2Charge.[32][33][34][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mahindra e2o Car Specification". www.mahindrae2oplus.com/. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Mahindra Reva lines up offer to boost E2O electric car sales". www.team-bhp.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Companies - Boris Johnson charged up by environmental friendly G-Wiz". Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Electric Car Market Statistics". Next Green Car. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  5. ^ "India Launches A $15,000 Electric Car, With No Help From The Government". Forbes. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  6. ^ Chaudhari, Yuga (15 November 2013). "Lack of government subsidy puts brakes on e2o sales, says Mahindra & Mahindra". dna india. Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Mahindra e20 Electric Car Launches in UK". Autocar. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Mahindra e2o Two-Door Officially Discontinued in India; Exports to Continue".
  9. ^ "Mahindra e2o electric city car pulled from UK sales". Auto Express. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Mahindra Reva in "Most Innovative Companies 2013 by Fast Company"". www.woolor.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  11. ^ Mahindra reva casestudy
  12. ^ "Reva explains "rescheduling" of pilot production of NXR electric car". AutoblogGreen. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  13. ^ Jon LeSage (20 November 2012). "Next-gen Mahindra Reva NXR electric car spotted in India". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Official: Mahindra Reva NXR to be called e2o, launch soon". 7 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d "Mahindra launches electric car 'e20' priced at ₹5.96 lakh". The Indian Express. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  16. ^ Brad Berman (5 March 2013). "Mahindra's e20 All-Electric Car to Launch in India in Mid-March". PluginCars.com. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  17. ^ "Mahindra Reva might test launch e20 in Amsterdam". www.wheelsunplugged.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Mahindra e2o review, test drive - Hindustan Times". Archived from the original on 19 November 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  19. ^ "6 reasons why Mahindra e2o is the coolest car to come out of India". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  20. ^ "M&M launches all-electric passenger car 'e2o'". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  21. ^ "Mahindra launches electric car 'e2o' priced at Rs 5.96 lakh". Business Today (business magazine). 19 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  22. ^ Antony Ingram (18 March 2013). "Mahindra E2O Electric Minicar Launches In India, Nee Reva NXR". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  23. ^ BS staff (15 November 2013). "Govt support missing, M&M scales back plans for new electric vehicles". Business Standard. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  24. ^ Sagar Patel (1 March 2013). "Mahindra Reva e2o price ranges from Rs 6.5 to 8.5 lakhs in states with no subsidy". Rushlane Daily Auto News. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  25. ^ Zigwheels.com (14 August 2014). "Mahindra Reva e2o Premium launched at Rs 5.72 lakh". Economic Times. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  26. ^ "e2o CARE PROTECTION PLAN". www.mahindrareva.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Mahindra Reva launches Premium variant of e2o 'smart car'". Business Line. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  28. ^ "Mahindra Reva slashes e2o price by up to Rs 1.7 lakh". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  29. ^ "Mahindra launches e20 car in Nepal". Business Line. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Mahindra enters Bhutan, launches electric car e2o". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Video/Photos: Mahindra e2o Electric Car Launch". Bernews. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Electric vehicles: Back to the future?". Forbes India. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Mahindra Reva e2o Gets Host Of Options – Quick2Charge, Sun2Car, Car2 Home, Goodbye Fuel/Hello Electric". InsideEVs.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  34. ^ "MAHINDRA REVA LAUNCHES NEW CAR". www.energynext.in. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  35. ^ Khandal, Vidhyadhar (6 February 2014). "Mahindra Reva showcases the Electric Future". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
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