Reva Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

October 26, 2009

REVA Teams With U.S. Startup on Deal to Assemble Small EVs in NY State

The rumors began a little over a month ago - we reported on on of the early ones - that India's REVA Electric Car Co. was eying upstate New York for a U.S. assembly plant for its just-unveiled NXR 3-door hatchback EV (right).

Well, we missed the formal announcement (no correspondents in that part of the Empire State), but it was made, late Friday: Reva has selected a just-formed U.S. electric car company, Bannon Automotive, to partner with it in an as-yet unbuilt EV factory near Syracuse.

The announcement has brought mixed reviews from New York citizenry, some welcoming the idea while others worrying that the state is handing out tax incentives and other financial lures to a relatively unknown enterprise.

Reva and Bannon have executed an exclusive North American licensing deal and have agreed to pony up a combined $26.5 million to rehabilitate and outfit an abandoned 150,000-square-foot building in a Syracuse suburb, the local newspaper reported.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 26, 2009, 2:20 PM
Categories:: Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Bannon Automotive

October 20, 2009

Battery Leasing Catching On? India's Reva Says Would Help Cut EV Purchase Price

Nissan, Renault Also Planning to Lease Batteries for Their EVs in Most Markets

There are all sorts of hopes and plans for lowering the cost of electric cars - most hinging on government subsidies and increased sales volumes that will power component costs - but one that doesn't lean of outside help is the idea of leasing the batteries with the car rather than including them in the sales price.

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Reva NXR is slated for 2010 launch in Europe, Asia.
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We first heard the idea from Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place. He suggests looking at the batteries as the principal part of the fuel system and thinking of leasing in terms of how we pay for fuel in our gasoline cars.

We don't buy a lifetime's supply of gas when we buy a new car now, he says. We pay for it as we need it. Why not the same with batteries and electricity?

Pay a monthly fee for the batteries and the few pennies it costs to recharge them each day and if the lease price is figures properly your "fuel" costs are likely to be the same or less than if you were driving a car with an internal combustion engine.

Among other things leasing means the car makers, not you, are responsible for fixing problems and for providing updated batteries when improvements are introduced.

Now we know the analogy doesn't hold up all that well - the electrons are the fuel and the batteries more like the fuel tank - but the idea still sounds pretty good.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 20, 2009, 3:58 PM
Categories:: Batteries, India, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Battery Leasing

September 24, 2009

General Motors, Reva to Collaborate on Electric Car for India Based on Chevy Spark

General Motors and India's Reva Electric Car announced today that they will jointly produce a battery-powered vehicle for South Asia based on the Detroit carmaker's best-selling mini-car, the Chevrolet Spark (pictured).

Under the alliance, GM will provide the vehicle platform and manufacturing facilities for the zero-emissions car, which will begin production next year, while Reva will supply the technology for the battery, electric drivetrain and power management systems.

They did not provide forecasts for production, but GM has the capacity to produce 225,000 vehicles of all types at its two plants in India and has plans to scale up its factory in Maharashtra state by an additional 160,000 vehicles.

GM, which is also due to launch its plug-in Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. next year, joins a growing list of the world's major carmakers that are due to launch electric cars over the next three years as part of their carbon-cutting strategy.

Some, including Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, have already launched them.

Last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault announced that it was launching four electric vehicles in 2011-12. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz showed planned battery-powered luxury models.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 3:58 PM
Categories:: Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, General Motors, India, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Audi

September 21, 2009

Are REVA's Electric Car, Manufacturing Plant Headed for the U.S.? Report Says Yes

REVA, the Indian automaker with big electric plans, reportedly is negotiating to bring its NXR 3-door compact EV (right) to the North American market and hopes to set up an electric-car manufacturing facility in the U.S.

A report in Syracuse.com, the Syracuse (N.Y.) on-line "newspaper," cited unnamed local government and development sources Friday as saying that "almost all of the pieces are in place to make the deal, including state and federal incentives."

REVA, which introduced the NXR at the Frankfurt Auto Show last week, has sought a $40 million federal loan guarantee - possibly through a U.S. partner or partners, the report said - to finance an assembly plant in the U.S.

The report says that the Syracuse region of central New York is a "leading contender" for the factory if the financing comes through

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 21, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Add category , India, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: 2010 REVA NXR

September 16, 2009

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: REVA EV Maker Unwraps NXG, Announces NXR Pricing

REVA Electric Car Co. presented the NXG to the world today, and announced the pricing for the 2011 NRX, at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

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Pictured, the REVA NXG electric car.
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Styled by Dilip Chhabria, the REVA NXG is a two-door, two-seater car with a targa top with a top speed of 80 miles an hour and a range of 125 miles per charge, and it can be fully charged in as little as 90 minutes using an optional fast charger.

The Indian automaker says that the plug-in electric NXG has "an effective range" of 250 miles per day due to the relatively short period of time required to fully fuel the vehicle using one of its fast chargers. The NXG was billed as REVA's 2011 model.

REVA executives took the opportunity to announce that today marked the official launch of the NXR, an electric car that is scheduled to enter production early next year. It will be available with either a lithium-ion battery or a lead-acid battery.

The NXR is a three-door, four-seater hatchback family car. The version with a lithium-ion battery is called the NXR Intercity and it has a top speed of 65 miles per hour and a range of 100 miles per charge. Using the 90-minute fast charge -- normal charging is eight hours -- the NXR Intercity offers an effective range of 192 miles a day.

Prices of the NXR Intercity will vary across Europe depending on taxes and subsidies, and there is the option of purchasing the car and batteries separately, or at an all-inclusive price.

That said, REVA announced the average price for the NXR Intercity in Europe will be around 14,995 euros (or $21,000), plus a monthly mobility fee for the batteries and other services.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 16, 2009, 5:57 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Batteries, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Frankfurt Motor Show

September 8, 2009

India's REVA to Unveil 2 EVs, Charging Technology at Frankfurt Motor Show

Indian automaker REVA announced today that it will debut two plug-in electric vehicles next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The REVA NXR is a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car suitable for urban driving that can be ordered at the show, with production scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2010.

The showcar, REVA's model for 2011, is the REVA NXG (pictured); a sporty two-seater with a targa roof that was designed by Dilip Chhabria of the internationally renowned automotive design company DC Design.

Another world-first for REVA will be the launch of REVive. The technology, which REVA claims has no equal, is intended to address the range-anxiety issue that troubles many an EV owner and prospective EV owner. That would be being stranded after your EV runs out of juice.

As REVA put it in a statement, the technology "acts like an invisible reserve fuel tank. The customer just has to telephone or SMS REVA for an instant remote recharge should they run out of charge."

We're not exactly sure what that means, and a REVA representative was not immediately available to explain; we expect answers next week at the very latest. But both the REVA NXR and the REVA NXG will feature "the REVive telematics technology."

The company said that further details and and pricing announcements will be made at the Frankfurt show. It also said its new Website, Revaglobal.com, will go live when the vehicles are unveiled in Frankfurt.

REVA is the brand of the Reva Electric Car Co., a Bangalore-based company formed as a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV LLC of California. It is backed by the U.S. investors Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

REVA claims its vehicles are being sold or test-marketed in 24 countries worldwide. It says it is building a new ultra-low-carbon-vehicle assembly plant in Bangalore, with a capacity of 30,000 units per year.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 8, 2009, 2:03 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Economy, India, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: Auto Show

October 14, 2008

India's Reva Expands Electric Vehicle Sales Effort Into European Market

Anticipating a big boost in electric vehicle sales in Europe, Indian EV maker Reva has expanded sales and distribution of its low-speed city cars into continental Europe after selling more than 1,000 in London under the "G-Wiz" brand name over the past few years.

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A model standing beside a Reva "G-Wiz" illustrates EV's small size.
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Reva's electric car, originally launched in India, is now on sale in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Norway.

The Bangalore-based EV maker said it is looking for distributors for other European countries as well.

"With certain industry predictions forecasting that electric cars will constitute 20% to 25% of all new car sales by 2020, we hope to build on our early success as a technology innovator and succeed in this exciting new segment," Keith Johnston, president of the company's new European division, said in a statement late last week.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 14, 2008, 3:02 AM
Categories:: Fuels & Technologies, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva
Technorati Tags:: City Cars

August 29, 2008

The New Competitors: India's Three-Pronged Approach To The Electric Car Market

By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor

Unwilling to leave the potentially lucrative electric vehicle market to Japanese, European and - maybe - American carmakers, Indian auto companies are rushing to develop EVs of their own.

The impetus is twofold: To combat gridlock and air pollution at home, and to cash in on global demand for cleaner, eco-friendly vehicles.

The Indian firms will be joining a rapidly growing field of manufacturers looking to market environmentally-focused vehicles.

Industry heavy-weights like General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Renault-Nissan and Daimler all have promised to bring plug-in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles to market within the next three-to-five years.

Some of their upstart Indian competitors, however, say they will hit the market with their electric vehicles as early as the end of this year.

To find out what's on tap, Green Car Advisor took a look at three of the main players in the burgeoning Indian electric vehicle market.

Reva

Reva Electric Car Co. is the minnow of the bunch. And no, we're not referring to the 102 inch length of the company's cartoonish-looking two-door hatchback (right) -- four inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo.

Based in Bangalore, Reva is a small family-owned company that happens to be one of the most established electric car manufacturers in the world, with a vehicle that initially went on sale seven years ago.

A Reva offers room for two adults plus two children in the rear, and a top speed of 50 miles per hour.

Since retail sales began in July 2001, some 2,600 Revas have found homes. Chetan Maini, Reva's deputy chairman and chief technical officer, says the majority have been sold in Bangalore and London, where it's called the "G-Wiz."

Maini explains that Reva's intention was to begin with "one Indian city and one European city," and build the business from there.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell August 29, 2008, 2:45 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuels & Technologies, India, Mahindra, Plug-ins and Electric, Reva, Tata
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles