The world of automobiles is changing very rapidly. The global shift towards cars and bikes that run purely on batteries is very evident. A case in point is the huge success of American company Tesla motors. Since 2008, Tesla has sold more than 1,63,000 cars, and has given conventional car makers some food for thought. The company has already announced its India entry and a lot of eager buyers are waiting for the same. The main mantra, of course, is not to just make electric vehicles that look and feel the same as the one that run on gasoline, but also perform as enthusiastically. But before Tesla makes its India entry, a few indigenous auto makers are doing their bit by offering Indians cars and bikes that are not just fully electric, but also tick all the boxes when it comes to design, features as well as performance.
Mahindra E2O
It won’t be wrong to call Mahindra the pioneer of electric cars in India. The Mahindra E2O, or the Reva as it was called earlier, has been around for a long time, but one of the biggest grouses users had with the car was that it only had two doors and access to the second row wasn’t very smooth. Now, the company has gone ahead and launched the E2O plus that comes with four doors, making it a more practical car. The car is powered by two lithium-ion battery packs, 48V and 72V battery pack which give a maximum power of 26 bhp and 40 hprespectively. Other numbers have also increased. On the top variant, the car does a 0-100 in 9.5 seconds and can attain a top speed of 128 kmph. The car can take up to nine hours to fully charge and also has a fast charging time of 90 minutes. The range has gone up too, with the promised range going up to 140 km. Feature wise, too, the car is impressive and comes with alloy wheels, a Blaupunkt infotainment system and a reverse parking camera. The E2O plus is priced starting at Rs 5.46 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Tork T6X
It’s not just about four wheels, two wheels are going electric too. And if you are thinking that the new ones look like mopeds or scootys, then take a look at the T6X which looks nothing less than a superbike. It has also got features that are unheard of in electric bikes in India. These include on board navigation, storage, cloud connectivity, full digital display and quick charge. Apart from these, the T6X boasts of a range of advanced safety features like ABS, CDS, anti-theft, geo fencing and daytime running lamp (DRL) among others.
Powered by lithium ion batteries, the T6X is engineered to travel at a top speed of 100 kmph, and runs 100 km on a single charge when plugged to a power socket. The battery can be charged upto 80% in an hour and full charge in two hours.
Depending upon the usage of the bike, the battery life can last upto approximately 80,000-1,00,000 km.T6X will be introduced in three markets of Pune, Bangalore and Delhi in the first phase early next year. It can be pre-booked now at an irresistible promotional price of Rs 1,24,999 (company selling price). Sellers and buyers are ready, but the government too needs to do its bit by giving more tax cuts on electric vehicles and providing more feasible infrastructure for charging on the go. After all, no one will mind cleaner, healthier air.