BMTC to test run BYD K9 all electric bus

BMTC might create a milestone in mass transportation in India by running all electric bus in Bangalore.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will be shortly running an all electric bus in the city for testing purpose. The all electric bus ‘BYD’ K9 is built by Chinese which can run up to 250 Km from a single charge. According to reports, a BYD K9 bus is housed in one of the BMTC depot, waiting for RTO approval for the test run.

BMTC will run the test vehicle for 3 months before making a decision to purchase. Sources say, the company has already received an additional allocation of 90,000 volts from BESCOM, the city’s electricity controller. The all electric bus will be tested on long and high traffic routes to check its capabilities in tough conditions.

BYD is a Chinese company which builts ‘K9’ electric buses. It uses iron phosphate battery developed in house and the eBus is run in many countries like USA, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Columbia and Hong Kong. The eBus weighs 18 tonns and has length, width and height of 12267 mm, 2550 mm and 348 6mm respectively. It takes about 5 hours for one full charge and almost half of the time for a fast charge. BYD company website claims the eBus capacity is 40 persons and it consumes less than 100 Kwh/60 minutes.

Hopefully Bangalore City will be the first city in India to run all electric buses on a regular basis and hence reduce the pollution in the city.

KYD K9 all electric eBus Specifications

BYD K9 all electric eBus Video

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GM shows electric ‘Beat’ in India

     In a drive for global demonstration of technology, Indian arm of American auto giant General Motors showed an electric version of its small car ‘Beat’ in India.


     The electric Beat is powered by a lithium-ion battery and can cover a distance of 130 Km in a single recharge under normal driving conditions. This new technology from GM will also be showed in other countries such as Korea, China and Germany.

     On the occasion General Motors India President and MD Karl Slym said that he is delighted that Chevrolet has selected India as an important market to test batter electric technology. He also emphasized about the capabilities of their engineers to make this technology more affordable.

Source: ET

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TVS Motors to relaunch electric scooters by 2011 end

     South Indian two wheeler manufacturer TVS Motors has said the company will re-enter the electric scooter segment by the end of this year. The company is currently testing 50 electric scooters in different cities.

     TVS Motor Company President (Marketing) H S Goindi said "We are working on introducing electric scooters and these are being experimented for the launch. By some time next fiscal, it will come (to the market)."

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Chevrolet Sail EV Concept introduced at Guangzhou Auto Show

     General Motors has introduced Chevrolet Sail Electric Vehicle Concept at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. The Sail EV Concept developed in association with PATAC (Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center) has a distinct design features with the grill inspired from Volt, flush door handles and turbine like looking wheels.

     Powering the Sail EV Concept is a small electric motor that produces power of 65 Kw and torque of 220 Nm. Top speed of 130 Kmph is achieved with travel distance of 150 Km with every recharge.

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Honda unveils electric scooter in Japan

Honda unveiled a prototype of a zero emission electric scooter at a research facility on the outskirts of Tokyo.

The scooter named as EV-neo is powered by a lithium ion battery which matches the performance of a 50cc petrol engine. The scooter can travel 30 km on a single charge at up to 30 kmph. The battery can be charged up to 80% in just 20 minutes. . Honda claims the scooter as “quiet and clean, contributing to creating a low-carbon society”.

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Reva on an expansion mode, to expand to 50 countries in 2 years

     Bangalore based Reva Electric Cars Ltd, the lone electric car manufacturer in Inida seams to be on an expansion mode. In an interview for the latest business news paper Mr Chetan Maini MD of Reva Electric Cars Ltd said the company is intending to expand to over 40 to 50 countries by 2012.

     Mr Maini also emphasized about the need of the electric cars now due to various factors. Firstly, the Government is providing huge subsidies as compared to earlier, for example in Delhi subsidy upto 29.5% is given on the electric cars in order to cut down polloution. Low running cost and increase in Green initiation is also a major factor for increase in demand for electric cars.

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Tata displayed Nano Electric Vehicle at Geneva Motor Show

     Tata Motors launched the Electic variant of its popular small car at the Geneva Motor Show. The Electric Nano whcih is christened Nano EV is primarily aimed at European Market. The electric motor and battery pack has been neatly incorporated in the car withought affecting is functionality.

     Along with the Nano EV was none other than the latest entry in the Tata family, The Aria - which is supposed to be the best Tata ever yet. Aria will go on sale in UK in early 2011. Aira has been designed according to the European standards and Tata is expecting to get a 4 star ratings in the EuroNACP.

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Mahindra to roll out electric version of Maxximo LCV by October 2010

     Mahindra plans to roll out electric version of the Maxximo LCV by October this year. The electric Maxximo will compete with soon to be launched electric Ace LCV from Tata Motors. Maxximo which is powered by a 2 cylinder diesel and has a payload capacity of 850kg, but the electric one will have slightly lower payload at around 600kg.

     Maxximo LCV was recently launched at the Auto Expo 2010 at New Delhi. It is world first mini truck to be powered by a 2 cylinder CRDe engine with DOHC technology and 4 valves per cylinder. Maxximo combines best in class technology, unmatched performance, superior style and comfort. It is the first product to be rolled out from Mahindra’s state-of-the-art Chakan plant.

Press Release:

“Electric Maxximo will be as practical as any other commercial vehicle of its size. It has the capacity of going up to 90 kilometers per full charge of 8 hours,” said Pawan Goenka, president of the automotive division of Mahindra told ET Now, adding, “The savings will be high on this vehicle, but it will depend on the price per unit of electricity in different states,” said Goenka.


"The efficient movement of road freight plays an important role in the economic progress of a nation. Under the hub-and-spoke distribution model, the role of small goods carriers is also becoming important to ensure last-mile or end-point distribution of goods. The Maxximo has been developed with our winning mantra of customer centricity combined with modern, efficient technology to create the next generation mini-truck" said Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman & managing director, Mahindra Group.

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