Oreva: India's Cheapest Electric Car

[kristopher]

Oreva or Flybo? I like Flybo... -K



http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1549

Open Access Article Originally Published: October 11, 2008

We are told that the Oriental philosophy of Buddhism had it origins in India six centuries before the Christian era and gradually found its way to China, Japan and Korea where it has thrived for two millennia.

Now it would appear the Chinese are returning the favor in the form of a small electric car that comes in several guises, the Flybo -- pictured above -- in China and North America, and (very likely) the Oreva in India.

A close comparison of the Flybo and the newly announced Oreva featured in the ANI video below, would strongly suggest that the Ajanta Group, which is best known in India as a maker of clocks, has leaned heavily on the Chinese to provide them with a fair share of the technology that is found in the company demonstrator car.

The Oreva Group claims the car will have a range of 200-250 kilometers (124-155 miles) per charge, which indicates it will be offered with some form of advanced battery chemistry, either NiMH or lithium, rather than lead-acid. However, conjectures that the car will cost less than the $2,500 Tata Nano at an estimated 0.85 lakh ($1,758US) poses an interesting question about how the company plans to offer the car so cheaply (less than the price of good laptop computer). One possible avenue is for them to sell the car and lease the battery pack.

While the company -- which began its electric vehicle venture by building electric bikes and scooters (again with what appears to be a strong Chinese influence) -- denies it's in competition with the Tata Nano, it is most curious that its name bears a very close resemblance to India's first and -- for now -- only electric car maker, Reva, located in Bangalore. The Reva, which is exported as far away as Britain, sells for around $8,500US (400,000 Indian rupees), nearly five times the projected price of the Oreva, but it does come with batteries included.

The Oreva will be built at the company's expansive facilities in Morbi, Gujarat, India. Production was previously announced to begin in the 2009-2010 time frame. This is the same Indian state, near the Pakistan border, that Tata now appears to be planning to build the Nano after running into serious opposition from farmers in West Bengal who opposed the sale of their land to build the plant and facilities for its supporting suppliers.

[Nederland]

1. I wonder

If it could pass US crash tests...

[IDemo]

2. It wouldn't need to, as a "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle" (NEV)

There are no US crash test requirements for NEV's. The Flybo has a top speed of 25 mph, according to the company.

[kristopher]

5. What came to my mind

What came to my mind was the recent talk about Hawaii becoming energy self sufficient. With slightly jazzed up batteries, this is perfect for their mass needs.

[NNadir]

3. Given that 35% of India's population of over 1 billion lives on one dollar a day or less,

and given that the per capita income of India is around $610, this is great news.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5116596.stm

I think we could end malnutrition by giving each kid a cell phone. "Nothing to eat?" Here kid, eat a phone?

You, um, know where the electricity in India comes from kiddie?

I've been to Mumbai, breathed that coal...

Um delicious...

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Well, this is ... nice

The problem isn't the technology, it's the society.

India is going to have to develop a serious middle class for the Oreva -- as well as the Tata Nano -- to be a success there. The will is there, but the obstacles are enormous, and I won't recite them here. Like the history of Buddhism mentioned in the text, the micro-car is likely to die out in India and flourish elsewhere.

Such a car is probably a better solution in the developed world in our transition to a lower-energy regime, eventually away from anything that requires a lot of personal long-range transportation. And if, as the more pessimistic economists think, the economic troubles we are now in turn into a major depression, a $US2000 American microcar could be quite successful, especially if it is on the agenda of the federal government.

I think it's very unlikely that India (and much of the world) will ever develop a middle class such as we in the OECD nations have now; if they can do it, I will cheer them on. But the middle class of the future may not resemble at all what we have today.

--p!

[Terry in Austin]

6. India's middle class is large

As a percentage, not so much, but in absolute numbers, it equals the whole population of the U.S. - about 300 million. Serious enough to qualify as a target market for an electric car company.