The growing market for electric vehicles in the west has been a positive sign for Indian car manufacturers lately.
Bangalore based Reva Electric Car Company (RECC),and Tata Motors are finalizing plans to launch their products in Europe and U.S. The companies stand to avail benefits of subsidies offered for environmental causes in these countries. A high penalty is levied emissions and stringent vehicle emission test are mandatory.
In future Tata Motors plans to launch the electric version of Indica Vista and RECC plans to step up its exports to several other European and North American countries. Tata Indica Vista will be introduced in Norway this year. Reva Electric Car Company has been exporting its products to Europe since 2004 and now wants to explore U.S. market. So far RECC has exported 1,500 electric cars to Norway, Germany, Switzerland and UK. RECC has had a limited success in European countries, but the new U.S. government’s pledge for greener cities has encouraged it to across the Atlantic.
Recently, President Obama pledged to have one million electric vehicles on American roads by 2015. “That is where the huge opportunity awaits us” said Mr. Chetan Maini, Deputy Chairman and CTO for Reva Electric Car Company.
However, Mr Maini admits it is an uphill task to reach American shores as stiff safety standards for all cars and strict entry regulations, make things difficult. Mr. Maini will be required to enhancing the safety standards on his cars before introducing it in U.S. market. That could also involve structural changes to the existing model too. RECC is also looking at various option to enter the market either through a joint venture or on its own.
On the brighter side, U.S. provides incentives through tax breaks to electric car manufacturers and subsidies of about $ 7,500 U.S.dollars to these car buyers. Tax breaks are given at two levels, the federal government and the state governments. They also provide support for research and development on such vehicles. The government has allocated $ 22 billion U.S.dollars for research and development on zero emission cars.
In UK, buyers of electric cars or hybrid vehicles could get tax rebate of £ 5,000. Throughout Europe the rebate was €5000 euros. To encourage the use of electric cars, the UK government exempts electric cars from £8 congestion tax levied on large cars entering central business districts. Parking charges are exempted for these cars in these areas. Local authorities have set up recharge plug points near busy areas. Mr Maini estimates the market size for electric cars at 200,000 units annually in United States.
The Indian auto major Tata Motors had purchased the Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer Miljo Gi last year, as part of its next-generation technology plans. The new company entered into a joint venture with Electovaya from Canada, to source licensed lithium ion battery technology for electric car. Electovaya has developed batteries that can provide a driving range of 200 kms in one charge. They can be charged within an hour and travel on longer distances.
Tata also plans to create electric Indica models for Indian car market. For the European markets, the car body frame is manufactured in India and shipped to Europe. This measure not only helps reduce expenditure but also cheaper price tags. Indian car manufacturers have the benefit of cheaper manufacturing costs resulting in reduced prices for its final products. Reva G Wiz is sold at 40-50 percent reduced price compared to similar car produced in United Kingdom.
The electric car mobility is the next form transportation across the world. There have been some path breaking research in several countries, but more needs to be done. Electric cars are yet to show the flexibility that petrol/diesel cars provide. Indian car manufacturers are making great strides in electric car manufacturing and huge opportunities lie before them.
