‘Using electric vehicles can check global warming’

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: Chetan Kumaar Maini conceived and developed India’s first electric car much before most corporates saw economic sense in being on the right side of the environment. The unassuming Michigan and Stanford alumnus is the deputy chairman and chief technical officer of Reva Electric Car Company. The Bangalore-based company was established as a joint venture between the Maini Group India and AEV LLC, California, in 1994. The first model rolled out in 2001. Today the company is exporting to 13 countries. Maini has led the company from the front. His 15 years of hands-on experience in developing electric, hybrid and solar vehicles have been crowned with two patents. FE’s Rajiv Tikoo caught up with Maini recently. Excerpts:

Electric vehicles are gaining in popularity worldwide today. How is India gearing up?

The government offers a subsidy of Rs 75,000 to state-run bodies, public institutions, hospitals and educational establishments for buying a Reva. Electric vehicles are exempted from paying road tax in five states in the country. Besides, Chandigarh has started offering 15% subsidy on all electric vehicles under its Green Chandigarh campaign.

What kind of measures are other countries taking to promote electric vehicles?

In Japan, an end-user gets a subsidy of $2,600 (Rs 1 lakh) for buying a Reva. The UK exempts electric vehicles from paying sales and road tax. Parking fee and congestion taxes are also waived. Norway does not levy import duty, VAT and road taxes on electric cars. Besides, electric cars are permitted to use bus lanes, which enables them to be driven faster.

So, what more would you like the Indian government to do?

There should be a sustained and consistent policy with a broader vision for promoting electric vehicles in India. The government should support research projects in the domain. Non-conventional/alternate energy products in India attract a VAT of 4%. It should apply to electric vehicles, which are paying 12.5% currently. Similarly, the excise duty of input materials should be reduced to 8% as in finished products. Today CNG and LPG kits are required to pay an import duty of 5%. It should also apply to components for electric vehicles. And the subsidy of Rs 75,000 should be extended to all users, including corporates and individuals. Road tax should be exempted on an all-India basis. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) offers loans at 2.6% for purchase of solar water heaters. Similar soft loans can be provided for buying electric vehicles, too.

Why should it all be done in the first place?

The transport sector contributes 23% of the carbon dioxide emission globally. If we have to check global warming, the electric vehicle is an obvious answer. It has zero or low emissions and uses available power sources.

Wouldn’t zero emissions be possible only if the charging is done from renewables ?

Zero emissions may be possible only from renewables, but electric vehicles have much lower emissions even on using electricity from conventional sources. We have an emission of 60-70 gm of carbon dioxide per km against an emission of 300-400 gm of carbon dioxide per km emitted by regular cars.

How economical is it?

Reva consumes nine units of electricity for a full charge that lasts up to 80 km. So, it costs 40 paise per km, which comes out to be about 10% of a conventional car. Typically a person drives the whole day, returns home in the evening and plugs into a 230-volt, 15-ampere socket. People can also charge the car in offices, malls and parking lots. It takes five to six hours to charge fully.

Are you doing anything to improve the performance and efficiency of the battery?

Everything is possible. We are testing a lot of batteries that are future ready.

What are your future plans?

Our new facility with a capacity of 30,000 units will be completed by mid-2008. The construction has been undertaken under LEEDs guidelines (a green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council) to reduce the consumption of energy in construction and maintenance of the building. Besides, there will be solar charging, solar water heating, rainwater harvesting, natural ventilation and lighting.

What are you aiming at?

We are a global pioneer in electric vehicles. We have over13 years of experience and registered about 10 key patents. There are 2,500 Revas in 13 countries on the road today. Ours is the lowest priced electric vehicle in the world. We are planning to bring in a new variant every year. We will continue to develop newer technologies. We want to offer solutions for mass transport in India. Right now we export 70% of our production. We want to make it 50: 50.

If there is such a compelling business case for electric vehicles, why are not others jumping into the fray?

In the last six months, a lot of investment has gone into this space. At least four OEMs were announced in the last six months saying that they will enter the space by 2010. GM, Nissan and Renault are already in the fray. Former SAP executive Shai Agassi is raising $200 million to fund his electric vehicle project.

How hot is it in India?

There is a surge in the popularity of electric two-wheelers in India. A lot of them are imported from China, though.

What is the reason behind this sudden interest all over the world now?

It is rarely that a lot of factors come together. Technology is there. The environment—and not only awareness on climate change— is enabling. Fuel prices are very high. All these factors are contributing to this wave. You will see a huge change in the next five years because investment is coming in a big way.

We have seen electric vehicles earlier, too, but the industry never took off.

May be because all these three factors were not there. Technology was not as advanced. Oil prices were not so high. And the threat of the climate change was unknown. Although there were products, these were not really accepted. There is a big change since then.

You started more than a decade ago. Were you ahead of times?

In a way we were a little ahead. I don’t think the market was ready. People were excited about it. Being a pioneer, we had to create the awareness as well as the product ourselves. It would have been easier with more players.

At the same time, it gave us some advantage because we were able to run pilots for a few years in Bangalore and London. The learning was great and we have incorporated the learning into our products. If we didn’t do it then, it would take us longer now.

Do you fear that big auto players are going to overtake you some day?

I am sure they will be coming in, but we have the tech advantage. If we are able to maintain our leadership position, I think we will do well. In any case, we are targeting a minuscule volume globally. We are aiming at 30,000-40,000 units in a few years. There will be enough space for all. There will be a lot of competition after five years, though.

Are small cars going to be a big threat?

Our focus has been on environment-friendly technology. In any case, our car is not more expensive than any other small car. As volumes go up, you will see cost reductions.

Finally, why have you named it Reva?