Please read energy shortages graphs in different states of India here http://greencleanguide.com/category/energy/

Read more on National Mission for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles here http://greencleanguide.com/2011/03/12/national-mission-on-hybrid-and-electric-vehicles/

Tesla should really look at India, China to get the first movers advantage.
They could also manufacture here and save costs and thus make cheaper cars for domestic as well as export.

We just had our Union budget for 2013 by the government and there were no subsidies announced for electric car consumers.
That’s a bummer.

Without the subsidies of Rs 1,50,000 (which is huge), Mahindra will push that cost to the consumer and in a price conscious society that is going to be a challenge for Mahindra.

Am 32 years old and in my 12 odd years of my work life so far, i have never bought a gas motor bike or a gas car, even though i could afford one,

I have used public transport all my life. But looking at people, who dont care and buy SUVs, sometimes i think whatz the point?

How am i making a difference? And how am i benefitting? The government does not provide any tax benefit for me, for not using a gas guzzling vehicle.

I walk through the polluted Indian cities and breathe in the polluted air to catch a bus, while i see colleagues zoom in their cars.

But something has always kept me going, the deep intuition that the way we are screwing up the environment and air is bad and we need to set an example. I often wondered if there will be a change.

And then i see Tesla, Mahindra trying to make a difference. And now is the time.
Guys – lets support these amazing enterprises and make a difference.

1) PV built into the body providing consistent trickle charge anytime any light is present (i.e., thin film coated like with Aleo Solar (which works off all light, direct or indirect via infrared) or the new one that uses ALL incoming light and has a +90% efficiency),2) permanent magnet DC high efficiency generators in the wheels so trickle charge also occurs every time the wheels move, 3) Ultra capacitors used in order to cut down on battery drawdowns during high power demand times such as initial acceleration (these can extend a battery charge up to 15 times when used with portable power tools), 4) low efficiency magnetic field inducing generators used in regenerative braking for recapture of some energy (or maybe try some flywheel technology, which I haven’t seen used yet, the other items however are all ready to go), 5) Altairnano Nanosafe nano coated titanium dioxide batteries do not heat up, test up to 20,000 recharges, operate well in extreme temperatures, charge in 10 minutes and can be stacked to provide extended ranges and: 6) High efficiency motors by UQM or Dyson. Such a car would rarely need to be “plugged in” to the grid because the high efficiency coupled with the constant trickle charging would greatly extend the life of each battery charge. It would sell very well throughout the world, put more money back into the hands of the people because they would not have to be buying unneeded outside produced polluting energy, erasing much carbon presently being produced alleviating some of the climate change, change the geopolitical, financial and military structures throughout the world, i.e., middle east, Iran, Venezuela, ETC., help alleviate the need for spending such great sums of money and precious resources on drilling and transporting oil, cut down on pollution and the attendant health problems and costs incurred by such, no more oil drilling in ecologically precious areas. Yeah, I guess it makes too much sense

Mahindra will do better if they release the car without waiting for the Govt. subsidies. If any subsidies are announced, they can provide it to cars selling from that point. By releasing it now, they will know how the vehicle performs and get customer feedback right now. Is there any point in waiting till Tata or Maruti start launching electric cars aggressively???

Also, Mahindra Reva might want to bundle that solar charging stations with every car they sell. They should at least license the technology that allows house-hold appliances to be charged from electric car batteries. Do all this and you will have a winner.

The target buyers didn’t make the 2-wheeler-to-Nano jump because of 1) marketing/branding: the Nano is an incredible deal- for $3K you get a car that’s better than any other car in India up till about $5K. But the whole image was one of a “cheap car”– and given that the 2- to 4-wheel jump is partially about status, a “cheap car” wouldn’t help on that front. 2) financing- Tata didn’t have sufficient financing tie-ups at launch, which is a fatal problem for the buyer segment they were targeting (who are unlikely to have that much cash sitting in the bank).

Now Tata’s fixed the financing issues and turned around the marketing (it’s being promoted as a fun car for young people- a better image than “world’s cheapest car”). Obviously won’t live up to original expectations, but doing better than it was at launch.

More relevant to the article, I don’t think people at the entry level of the Indian car market will be buying EVs at this point, as there is an up-front cost premium (even with subsidies). You do make up for that with much lower operating costs, but still not something a scooter buyer will look at (yet). Instead, it’s more for the middle of the car market (and also the very top end, i.e. eco-conscious buyers) — people who realize they don’t need to drive their diesel SUV to work every way. A city EV will eliminate the fuel, maintenance, etc. headaches (then you can have, or rent, an SUV or van for longer trips).