Before Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles flagged off their ambitious, first of its kind, all-electric, 5,300 kilometre long, car expedition in India, they had to do something else — lay down the infrastructure to support electric car charging in few parts of the country.
The expedition, Mahindra Reva Goodness Drive, sprawling a geographic axis of the country started from Kashmir on 15th of November in three Mahindra e2os and covered 52 locations before reaching Kanyakumari exactly a month later.
“Goodness Drive was our attempt to increase awareness about electric cars in the country and to bust myths, such as, electric cars are not capable of traveling long distances,” said Arvind Mathew, CEO, Mahindra Reva.
Mathew also acknowledged lack of infrastructure as a major deterrent for people wanting to go “electric.” The fear of being stranded in the middle of the road with no electric charging stations nearby is what drives car owners away.
During the 5,300 kilometre expedition, Mr Mathew said that they used the Mahindra dealership outlets to recharge their cars. In places where Mahindra did not have any outlets, the company had set up temporary charging stations.
Mahindra e2os runs 120 kilometer once charged and takes about five hours to fully charge its battery. The company had installed 25 fast charging stations that fully charged car batteries in over an hour.
In April this year, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises had rolled out FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles) to provide impetus to the nascent hybrid and electric vehicle industry in India.
Phase I of the scheme had an approved outlay of Rs 795 crore for hybrid and electric vehicle industry.
Mathew said that the scheme has generated significant interest in Indian electric car industry since its announcement. However, government needs to implement projects for building infrastructure that would encourage consumers to buy and use electric cars, he said.
According to the company, 50 per cent of Mahindra Reva’s customer base comes from Karnataka due to the taxation benefit the state government provides. In Bengaluru alone, Mahindra Reva has installed 100 charging stations and 25 fast charging stations in malls and office spaces.
