A little over a decade ago, a Bengaluru-based company call Maini launched a small electric car called Reva. It was a little two-door car and not many people even fathomed that one day in the near future they will be buying an electric vehicle. The company was later bought by Mahindra and the e2o was launched. Once again it was a two-door small electric car which was priced rather high. Quite simply it did not do too well in the market.
Perceptions changed when a few years ago the Indian market saw an invasion of battery-electric two and three-wheelers. These were cheap to buy and came with little or no quality control. Underneath the vibrant colors hid flimsy plastic bodies and equally flimsy frames. Ride and handling were as dubious as to its electric motor. They were mainly powered by heavy lead-acid batteries which took ages to charge. But the Indian Janata lapped them up thanks to considerably lower running costs.
But when the Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced his grand electrification program, mainstream manufacturers had to delve into this territory. As a result, we now have electric scooters like the TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak, and the fantastic Ather 450X. Not just two or three-wheelers, mainstream car manufacturers like Hyundai, Tata Motors, MG, and Mercedes-Benz also launched new-generation electric cars. Suddenly people started taking notice and sales started rising. But are electric vehicles ready to challenge their ICE-powered counterparts? Let’s find out.
ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Futuristic design and features
この記事は Auto Today の June 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Auto Today の June 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Big Wing Energy
TVS Motor Company has launched an updated version of the Apache RR 310, which promises to deliver not only more power and torque than before but also more bang for your buck. We recently went down to the COASTT high-performance track to test the theory
All gas All go
Tata Motors' CNG portfolio now includes the Nexon, and this might be a turning point in the way that CNG cars are perceived
Royal Blessings
We get behind the wheel of the Hyundai Exter to explore one of the most well-preserved Mughal Empire sites in our country. Curious?
Generation next
The 4th-gen of the BMW X3 has made its global debut and we were in the brand's hometown of Munich to drive the car before its European debut this year. The same will be launched in India next year
Electrified palace on wheels
Mercedes-Benz has launched the EQS SUV which is nothing short of being a palace. The other positive is that this palace is as green as it can get
Achtung! CXOs
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB is back in a new generation, V214 and this time, the three-pointed stars have showcased how they use their understanding of what their customer needs to be the best-selling luxury brand in the country, year after year
Moving page 3s
The Kia Carnival is here in a facelifted avatar of the second generation (that we skipped in India), but this time, it is priced almost double the previous iteration. Does it have enough to make the price premium worth it? Read on to find out
Successore dei LaFerrari
FERRARI HAS revealed the F80, which is the successor to the LaFerrari, that made up one of the three cars in the Holy Trinity.
McLaren initiates the new trinity
MCLAREN WAS the first of the high-performance brands to reveal a weaponised hybrid system in a supercar with the P1, which became one of the three hybrids known as the Holy Trinity, with the other two being the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder.
Dzire creates history at GNCAP for Maruti Suzuki
MARUTI SUZUKI DZIRE has scored five stars in the Global NCAP crash tests, making it the first car from the company to achieve this feat.
