The Reva was the brainchild of Chetan Maini, icon of the Maini Group, who championed the car at a time when skepticism was widespread about the viability of electric vehicles.
Developed entirely in-house, India's first electric car was 95 percent indigenous from the start, built of lightweight steel and plastic and with fewer moving parts. It can be fully charged in seven hours by plugging into a regular 15 amp socket at home. The fully-automatic models have a top speed of 65 km/hr and a range of 80 km, and a running cost of just 0.4 rupees/km.
With oil prices having hit record highs earlier this year and countries focusing on energy security, there is greater pressure on carmakers to develop engines powered by alternate fuels. The funding has helped add dealers in India and double output to 30,000 units, of which more than half is exported. If demand rises, Reva can easily be assembled in other low-cost centres such as Southeast Asia and eastern Europe, Maini said. Maini, who studied mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and at Stanford University, where he focused on solar-powered cars and hybrid electric cars respectively, employs just over 30 people in the factory in Bangalore.
Maini is building more powerful cars, with a range of 200 km and top speed of 120 km/hr. He also has prototypes of electric city buses and pick-up trucks, and is testing fuel cell technology.
timesofmalta.com
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