Thursday, April 04, 2013
By Pawan Rana
Mahindra Verito Electric launch in a year
Mahindra launched the electric car Mahindra E2O recently and now Mahindra Verito Electric is all set to make its debut in India within a year. It appears that the less than expected bookings of electric car E20 have failed to deter the enthusiasm and optimism of the company regarding developing the concept of electric cars. The company is expected to invest approximately Rs 150 cr, in order to build up electric variants of those three vehicles that are currently in existence. These vehicles include Verito, Mahindra Gio and Mahindra Maxximo. It is reportedly known that the company is pondering over integrating the electric vehicle technology in few more existing products. It is said that the company has almost finished the work related to the electric Maxximo and Gio and the development of an archetype related to electric Verito, is currently in progress.
The company is ready with 50 units of electric Maxximos and is just waiting for their commercial launch once it figures out about the response regarding the e20. Regarding Verito, the prototype is prepared but since it is a heavier car than the e20, the company may require adjusting the technology and adapting it to offer its best. However, this too is expected to hit the Indian markets within one year. As far as lukewarm response related to bookings of e20 is concerned, despite of lower than expected booking orders, this electric model did get successful in creating a buzz in the automobile domain.
It is believed that more states will follow the footsteps of Delhi regarding offering subsidy for promoting electric vehicles. Currently, the company is looking forward to sell approximately 400-500 units of e20/month in the domestic market and it has got enquiries from Europe for e20 and this may generate a possibility to commence export to the European region within 8-9 months.
