LO, BATTERIES

India’s first electric car meets the first from the new EV wave

- Kartik Ware

The first electric car was invented in the 1880s. And 140 years later, I drove a Hyundai Kona EV home. Between the preceding sentences lies a history that finally seems to be coming full circle, all over the world. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric cars were actually all over the place in Europe. But then petrol-powered cars came along and addressed issues that plagued EVs — range and ease of refuelling — and pretty much wiped out their electric rivals. The more things change, the more they don’t, it would appear. Plus I suspect IC gave men something manly to do, and they even immediately labelled EVs as cars for women. Typical.

However, did you know that the first automobile to break the 100kph barrier was electric? La Jamais Contente (meaning Never Happy) from Belgium whined away to a historic 105.882 kph in 1899. And as I wondered about the history of electric vehicles, the Kona blew past that poignant mark from a standing start with torque-laced humility. The Kona’s acceleration was great, with Hyundai claiming that its 134 bhp and 40.27 kgm enable a 9.7-second run to 100 kph. I wondered if La Jamais Contente had the same highpitched whine as the Kona. Was that the sound of an inevitable future, delayed as it may be?

All of this pondering led me to think of the first electric car I drove, the Maini Reva. And I wondered if I could find one to juxtapose with the Kona. A couple of phone calls later, not only did I find a Reva, it also came with Dr Swaranjit Singh Bhatti as its owner who’s been driving it for the past ten years. Who better to plonk in the Kona and talk all things electric? For those who came in late, the Reva was India’s first electric car and sold from 2001 to 2012. It was an idea far ahead of its time and, as it goes with such things, is even more relevant today.