Mahindra bets big on eVerito

Mahindra Electric, the electric mobility division of the Mahindra Group launched its zero emissions sedan e-Verito with three variants – D2/D4/D6. The all-electric car will initially be available in key cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Nagpur and is priced at Rs 9.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base D2 variant. This pricing, according to the company, is after factoring the Delhi state subsidy of Rs 1.50 lakh (plus reduced VAT of five percent from 12.5%) and the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme incentive of around Rs 1.38 lakh. Road tax and registration charges are not included. This means the eVerito gets a total incentive of close to Rs 3 lakh in Delhi.

Delhi sales target is over 350 units a month

Mahindra Electric clearly is betting on selling the eVerito in big numbers in Delhi. Beleaguered by emission issues, the ongoing 2,000cc diesel vehicle ban and also the irksome odd-even traffic scheme, the company is optimistic Delhi motorists will take to the green sedan in big numbers.

According to CEO Arvind Mathew, Mahindra Electric is eyeing sales of 350-400 eVeritos a month in the Delhi market alone. Mahindra Electric says the e-Verito, which is equipped with a direct drive single-speed transmission, can be charged at home as well as quick-charged (only the top-end D6 variant) in 1 hour and 45 minutes (--80%) through fast-charging technology. On a full charge, the sedan is claimed to travel up to 110km (based on vehicle load) and can achieve a top speed of 86kph. The eVerito, which employs the same 30kW battery pack as found in the e20 export model, also has the Revive battery charging system. Through telematics remote access to the car's on-board Energy Management System, the company's support centre can individually determine the battery condition and allow access to a small reserve charge of an extra eight kilometres. The company claims the eVerito has a running cost of only Rs 1.15 per km(calculated at Rs 7 per unit of electricity; 18 units are required for a full charge).

The car features Boost Mode and telematics which include real time and immediate assistance. Made in Nasik, the eVerito, which will source its battery pack and kit from Mahindra Electric’s Bengaluru plant (which makes the e20 and has a production capacity of 30,000 units a year) will be produced at Mahindra & Mahindra’s Nasik plant.

According to Mathew, theeVerito production is to be in the region of 15,000 units per annum. Speaking at the launch in New Delhi, Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (Automotive), M&M, said, “It has always been our endeavour to make electric vehicles more accessible and the eVerito is the first electric sedan in our portfolio. With issues like environmental degradation, pollution-related challenges, climate change and energy security, there has never been a better time to switch to electric vehicles.”

eSupro expected by August

The next Mahindra electric vehicle to make it to production is the Supro van. The eight-seater, zero-emission mini-van is likely to be launched in two months. First revealed at the Auto Expo 2016 in February, the eSupro is claimed to cover a distance of 100km on a single charge and hit an electronically limited top speed of 50kph. At the Expo, Mahindra had said the Suproelectric van can be a preferred option for first- and last-mile connectivity for metro rail and BRTS systems, school vans, corporate employee commuting solutions and also campus commuting.