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Despite rising oil prices, buyers have shown near-negligible interest in electric motor-driven vehicles, Mahindra Reva is taking innovative leaps to redefine the future of these cars.
Along with reducing prices, the company is experimenting with new schemes with its Mahindra e2o to boost the sales. Last year, it sold only 500 units since its launch in March.
“The sales of the electric car have been not up to expectations since it was launched in March last year.We missed the targets and sales were not up to the mark. Also, in India, perception about electric car is a big issue and society needs more awareness for such products. Overall, the last few years are not very good for automobile industry. But now, market conditions are improving. I am sure we will make significant presence in category. We are bullish on domestic as well as global markets. We are exploring European markets. We have set up a new sales team,” said Chetan Maini, chief executive officer, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles.
Mahindra Reva also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Bhutan to promote the usage of electric vehicles in the country. On this occasion, Mahindra Reva launched the Mahindra e2o in Bhutan as part of the Mahindra Group’s larger commitment to partner with the Government of Bhutan in its vision to create a sustainable, clean and green society.
In February this year, the company slashed the price of its electric car e2o by up to Rs 1.7 lakh by introducing a scheme under which a consumer pays a rental fee for the battery. Now, as a part of the programme, Mahindra Reva has introduced an attractive monthly energy fee starting from Rs . 2,599 which will allow the customer to drive 50,000 kms (800 kms of usage per month) over five years.
With rising fuel prices, this programme allows the customer to beat inflation by locking in the running cost for five years. Mahindra is exporting Reva to the countries like Nepal, Bhutana and Sri Lanka. It is eying cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.
Maini adds, “As a leading electric vehicle manufacturer in the country, Mahindra Reva is committed to develop not just electric vehicles, but also an entire ecosystem of sustainable mobility service that will benefit societies at large. We will keep our innovation quotient high to ensure that we not only better our product and service offerings but also create a sustainable eco-system to make electric vehicles more accessible and easy to use for our customers across the globe. As part of our innovative measures, we have introduced Goodbye Fuel, Hello Electric scheme and Quick2Charge technology for the convenience of potential e2o customers.”
