The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Revving up to beat pollution, fuel-price hike

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Revving up to beat pollution, fuel-price hike

By Rasheed Kappan

FREEDOM FROM FUMES: This was what Commercial Street in Bangalore looked like during last year's World Environment Day celebrations organised by a traders' association. Only pedestrians, bicycles and other eco-friendly vehicles were allowed to enter t he street on that day, and over 20 electric cars and golf carts took shoppers around. — Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

BANGALORE, NOV. 30. With fuel prices skyrocketing and the city's pollution levels reaching alarming levels, the focus is back on electric vehicles. The Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), which has pioneered the electric car movement in the country, has already rolled out 900 cars and 400 of them are on Bangalore roads.

Battery-operated electric scooters made by a Bangalorean are on their way to the city streets. To be exclusively launched in the city, the electric scooters will be manufactured in a Chinese plant and brought here in completely knocked down kits and assembled. The two-wheeler can reportedly achieve a maximum speed of about 50 km an hour. The cost of recharging its battery is only Rs. 3.

Rental scheme

Meanwhile, RECC has big marketing plans for the Reva in the city.

A rental scheme was launched to dispel myths associated with electric vehicles. Customers can now drive the car to see if it fits their daily commuting requirements within the city before they decide to purchase it.

The electric scooter is reportedly exempt from road tax. It is registered for a nominal fee. Sales tax exemption is also on the cards, it is learnt.

Based on an EEC (European Economic Community) certificate for its electric vehicles, Reva entered the European Union market in December 2003. Renamed G-Wiz, the company's car bagged orders for 500 units in the United Kingdom, company sources told The Hindu .

The G-Wiz export model has climate-controlled seats. A solid-state electronic pump is used to circulate hot or cold air through seats using technology derived from the American aerospace industry.

In the U.K., Power Shift, a government-funded organisation, provides a subsidy of up to £ 1,000 for buyers of electric vehicles. The vehicles are exempt from the £ 5 a day congestion tax. Some areas have free parking for electric vehicles and some others offer free charging facility. In London, there is no road tax on electric vehicles (the rates are between £ 100 and £ 150).

Joint venture

A joint venture between the Maini Group of India and Amerigon Inc. of the United States, RECC has a market presence in Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune and Jodhpur, besides Bangalore. Test trials to export the car are under way in the U.S., Japan, Norway and Malta.

Over 60 European cities formed an association to study the contribution of electric vehicles to solving their traffic and pollution problems. In Japanese cities such as Kyoto, Osaka and Yokohama, the Government sponsored demonstration programmes of electric vehicles, and even mandated that by 2005, 10 per cent of all vehicles should be run on electricity.

In the Italian city of Torino, only electric vehicles are allowed on Sundays. The State of Lombardy has banned from 2005 sale of vehicles which use fossil fuels.

Other cars

Among the electric vehicles in use in other countries are the GM EV1 (seating capacity: four adults, range: 90 km per charge); the Toyota RAV-4 (SUV) (five adults, 215 kmpc), Think (2 adults, 100 kmpc), Suzuki Alto (2 adults, 55 kmpc), the Honda City Pal (2 adults, 130 kmpc). The Reva can carry two children and two adults, and its range is 80 kmpc.

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