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Will Reva spark a trend?

Janaki Murali

BANGALORE, July 2

SEVEN years in the making, the Maini group's electric car, Reva, is finally on the road. But whether Bangalore will become an EV (electric vehicle) city and set a precedent for other cities in the country and the world to follow only time can tell.

Other automobile manufacturers, including the big names, who have their own EVs in pilot production, will certainly be watching from the sidelines to see how Reva fares in the infotech city.

Reva Electric Car Company Ltd (RECC) has handed over the first 10 cars to customers, two of which were bought by MICO. MICO officials said that the Reva would be used to shuttle between its two factories in Bangalore and Naganathpura. MICO, which sources components from other Maini group companies, will also use the opportunity to test the EC on the road.

Says Prof C.C. Chan, President of the World Electric Vehicle Association: ``The future of EVs are bright... for a sustainable ecology, we need to have environment-friendly vehicles. But it depends on whether you can mass-produce, ensure reliability and g ood performance at reasonable costs. These will define its future.''

According to him, RECC has been able to take care of some of these issues. ``You must have a system optimisation and integration. For instance, ECs have 60-odd components. In Reva, a major portion of the components have come from local sources, which ha s brought down the costs. What is needed is low-cost automation and low-cost components. Then one must understand the market -- ECs cannot compete with internal combustion engine cars -- so one must have a niche application, and enter as a city car for s hort distances.''

With a petrol-driven Maruti 800 priced around the same range of Rs 2.5 lakh, RECC has an uphill task convincing customers to opt for the Reva at the same cost.

This is where Reva's low maintenance costs will make a difference. Promoted with the line, ``offers the safety and convenience of a four-wheeler at the operating cost of a two-wheeler'', RECC hopes to entice two-wheeler owners graduating to a four-wheele r. Reva also promises a ``no gears, no clutch'' driving experience at a low running cost of Re 0.40 per km.

RECC's target audience include housewives, working women, retired professionals and college students. As one auto analyst puts it, ``maybe Reva will be able to capitalise on reverse snobbery. The very rich like to buy small cars, as part of their stable of big cars.''

RECC is also promoting itself as an environment-conscious company. It has been promoting various environment-linked events on World Environment Day. The car also carries a catchy slogan, ``I don't pollute when I commute''.

The Reva, however, can go only up to 80 km, before it has to be recharged again. With no mobile recharging facilities yet, the car has to be charged at home or at the working place.

Meanwhile, the future for the world EV scenario ``is bright'', according to Prof Chan. He says: ``Pure electric cannot solve the problem, say in Tokyo or Los Angeles. Companies are now looking at hybrid versions for these cities, as they are cities of lo ng distances, but in Bangalore it could work. The EVs can succeed in heavily populated cities, probably Asian countries, and some European countries, where distances are short, particularly as cost performance ratio will then be feasible.''

According to him, hybrid cars which have both an internal combustion engine and a motor are likely to be succeed in the Europe and US. ``In the next 10 years, hybrids and EVs together could occupy five per cent market share in the global market.''

What has probably been the prime reason for the slow offtake of an EV in the rest of the world is the high cost of the battery, which costs nearly half the cost of an EV.

And, finally to misquote one of the catch lines of RECC -- it has made ``a small beginning...'' but whether it ``can make a big difference,'' has to be seen.

Pic.: A view of the Reva at the time of its launch.