Category: Auto Tech

BYD has been selling electric vehicles in India for some time now. And we aren’t just talking about the e6 MPV but also e-buses that the company supplies to various state transport corporations. The e6 electric vehicle has been on sale since last year but was only meant for commercial operations. However, with the launch of its first dealership in Ernakulam (Kerala), private buyers can now put down their money for this spacious 5 seater electric MPV. Know more about the BYD e6 here.

The ex-showroom price for the BYD e6 electric is Rs. 29.15 lakhs. Customers who want a quick 7 kW charger will need to pay an extra Rs 40,000. In comparison, the top end diesel automatic Innova Crysta currently sells for about Rs 26.5 lakh. In terms of power train, the BYD e6 gets a large 71.7 kWh battery pack and this is the reason why the claimed range is over 500km! In terms of power, the motor makes about 94 HP and generates a max torque of 180 Nm. The top speed is limited to 130 km/h.

If you are looking at this electric MPV, you will be happy to know that it supports both AC and DC fast charging. With the latter, the e6 can be charged from 30 to 80 % in just 35 mins. The e6 also comes fully loaded with features like leather seats, touchscreen infotainment, rear view camera et al. Being a large vehicle and limited to just 2 rows, space at the back is immense while also liberating a lot of boot space that stands at 580 litres.

Peace of mind comes from a 3 year / 1.25 lakh km basic warranty. In addition to this, you also get a warranty of 8 years / 5 lakh km on the battery and a 8 years / 1.5 lakh km warranty on the motor. BYD will soon expand its dealerships across India and will increase the product line up as well. We are sure the company will showcase more products at the upcoming 2023 Auto Expo.

Remember the good old double decker buses we used to see in various cities a decade back? These are set to return and the first city to get these buses will be Mumbai. And keeping in mind with modern times and electric mobility, these buses will be full electric! Switch Mobility, part of the Ashok Leyland group has showcased the EiV 22 bus that will be used by BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) as an efficient public transport mode. This also makes the Switch EiV 22 is India’s first electric double-decker air-conditioned bus. The brand believes it will revolutionize public transportation in the country and will set new standards in the intra-urban bus market.

This electric double decker bus is powered by a 231 kWh capacity, 2-string, liquid-cooled, higher density NMC chemistry battery pack with a dual gun charging system. Switch claims that the bus will offer a range of up to 250 km for intra-city applications. The company has already secured an order of 200 electric double-decker buses for Mumbai and is looking forward to dominating the sector with the electric double-decker bus, across key regions in the country.

The Switch EiV 22 electric double decker bus is indeed a great achievement in terms of packaging. It is the world’s first standard floor-based, air-conditioned electric double-decker bus with a wider door on the rear overhang as well as in the rear staircase. Further, the vehicle is constructed on a lightweight aluminium body which will surely offer a higher passenger-to-weight ratio and fuel efficiency. 

ALSO READ – Ola Electric Car Launch in 2024

With contemporary styling and feel-good interiors and exteriors, the double decker boasts of wide front and rear doors, two staircases and an emergency door complying with the latest safety standards. The AC offers effective cooling in India’s hot climatic conditions, while the optimized seating for 65 passengers is the maximum number of seats to be offered in the given footprint. Each seat has a lightweight cushion and the interiors come with car like comfort for passenger convenience. This state-of-the-art electric double decker serves as an ideal solution for urban commuting, as they occupy less road, terminal and depot floor space per seated passenger.

Not many would remember but it was Ashok Leyland that first launched the double-decker in 1967 in Mumbai and its electric mobility arm, Switch is now carrying forward that legacy. Switch already sells double decker buses internationally including in the UK.

Hyundai is all set to offer their 2nd electric car for the Indian auto market. The Ioniq 5 EV will be in showrooms later this year. We now have confirmed reports that the media drive will take place in end Nov or early December and the car will go on sale before that. The Ioniq 5 is currently undergoing real world evaluations in India and has been spotted several times. For the uninitiated, the vehicle shares the same e-GMP platform as its cousin, Kia EV6 and we can expect the launch early next year.

What’s interesting is that even though both the Ioniq 5 EV and Kia EV6 share the same platform, the former will be priced lower than the other. The reason behind is the fact that Hyundai will localise their car here in India itself and is expected to bring the car with a smaller battery pack. The difference in pricing of both the models will be substantial.

We expect the South Korean carmaker to bring the smaller 58 kWh battery pack that gives a certified range of 383 km on a single charge. In global markets, the Ioniq 5 is also offered with a larger battery pack of 77.4 kWh which gives a more driving range to the customers. However, the bigger battery packs adds a lot of cost to the vehicle.

Also Read: 2022 Maruti Ciaz To Be Updated With 1.5L DualJet Petrol And 6-Speed AT Soon – All You Need To Know

Feature-wise, the Ioniq 5 EV will be offered with a lot of modern amenities. We can expect a large touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, dual-zone climate control, a digital instrument cluster, massive panoramic sunroof and more.

Other features like ventilated cooled front seats, head-up display, UV cut glasses, drive modes will also be included in the Ioniq 5. Safety equipment on the upcoming EV includes multiple airbags, ABS with EBD and ESP, front and rear parking sensors, hill hold control, hill descent control, tyre-pressure monitoring system and more.

Also Read: Foldable Electric Scooter Review (Rs 44,444 only)

Hyundai already sells the Kona EV in India. This was launched in July 2019, much before we saw options like the MG ZS EV and the Tata Nexon EV. The Kia EV6 is priced from Rs 59.95 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. We expect the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 to be priced from as low as Rs 48 lakh. All prices stick to ex-showroom, Delhi. Once launched, the Ioniq 5 will lock horn with Volvo XC40 Recharge, Kia EV6 and Mini Cooper SE.

On 15th August this year, Ola Electric not only launched a more affordable versions of the electric scooter (READ) but also unveiled its upcoming electric car. According to Ola Electric’s live video on August 15th, the upcoming Ola Electric car will be the “sportiest car built in India.” This Ola e-car will have a 500 km driving range on a single charge and as per the teaser, the company will launch it in 2024. This car will be produced from the new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. The company also claims that by 2026, the brand plans to produce 1 million vehicles.

Ola Electric Car

As per the teaser video, the upcoming Ola Electric vehicle will have a curvy, futuristic design. A large connected LED lightbar with an illuminated Ola logo would be included with the car. Even though the rear supports the same integrated LED connecting taillight system as the front, the roof line design recalls a coupe. This will surely add to the ‘sporty’ theme. The vehicle will also have a unique, all-glass roof with a roof line reminiscent of, again, a coupe. Other design specifics are still a mystery.

According to Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Electric, “the future Ola car will incorporate cutting-edge technology and Ola’s MoveOS.” Although not much else has been revealed about the vehicle, it will have a range of more than 500 kilometres on a full charge. The Ola Electric Car will also be capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in under 4 seconds, thus making is quicker than some of the so called ‘sporty’ turbo petrol sports cars in the market. As mentioned by the CEO of Ola during the live video, the Ola Electric car will also include keyless and handle-less doors. Additionally, it will have a driver assistance system for comfort while driving and many other cutting-edge technologies. The upcoming Ola car will use the brand’s exclusive Li-ion battery pack, which the business just made public.

Also Read: Ola Electric Brings A New E-Scooter, S1 – Priced At Rs 99,999; Most Affordable Ola Electric Yet

Ola Electric might participate at the upcoming 2023 Auto Expo. If they do so, they might showcase a more production ready version of the e-car. Stay tuned!

The electric mobility space is booming in India. iVOOMi Energy has been selling electric two wheelers for sometime now and their next product will be the Jeet X. It will be based on the current Jeet electric scooter and official launch will happen on 22nd August. The company has released an official teaser but it tight lipped on the specifications. Here is all that we know about the iVOOMi Jeet X as of now.

The marketing campaign around the Jeet X is “DiscoverTheExtra. This hint could be in terms of both design as well as specifications. The regular Jeet is already a smart looking EV and sold in two versions of standard and Pro. The Jeet X could get design tweaks in order to make it the flagship model. We expect a price hike of Rs 5-15k and this will also cover increased number of features including connectivity options. The scooter might deliver 130km of riding range and will come with removable battery pack.

The iVOOMi Jeet X will also come with matt colour options. The company says that the Jeet X is conceptualised to revolutionise the EV industry’s craftsmanship and to further fuel the customer experience and bring upgraded mechanisms to EVs. With diverse features, iVOOMi encourages consumers to make a viable and greener choice for future generations. The newborn electric scooters will take shape at its R&D and engineering centre in Pune, Maharashtra.

In other news, Ola Electric has launched a more affordable alternative to the S1 Pro – its simply called the S1 and is now on sale at Rs 99,999. Check it out HERE.

It was one year back on the 15th of August 2021 when Ola entered the EV space in India. And year later, they announced a more affordable version of the popular S1 Pro electric scooter. This one sheds the ‘pro’ name, has a lower price tag and aims to give tough competition to the recently updated Ather 450X and upcoming Simple One electric scooter. Here is a quick look at what all you should know about the new Ola S1 e-scooter.

The S1 looks identical to the S1 Pro. The only difference here are the number of colour options on offer. While the S1 Pro can be had in as many as 11 different shades, it’s cheaper sibling is offered in five colours only. Top speed drops from 116 km/h to 95 and so does acceleration. The S1 Pro can sprint from 0 to 60 in just 2.9 seconds. The S1 will take about 3.8 seconds. All this has been done to keep range as high as possible and this is because the new S1 comes with a smaller battery pack of 3 kWh, 25% smaller than what we see on the S1 Pro. The plus point is that the S1 is lighter by 4 kilos.

Ola says the S1 e-scooter will take 5 hrs to charge (full) and will offer 141km of range as per ARAI certification. It will continue to come with riding modes of Eco, Normal and Sports. The ‘Hyper’ mode is only reserved for the S1 Pro which carries a premium of Rs 40,000. Interested? You can book the Ola S1 e-scooter for just Rs 499 only and this can be done via the regular Ola app also. Customers who avail early access will be able to make the final payment on 1st September, and for others, the full payment window will open starting 2nd September. Deliveries will start next month itself.  

Apart from the smaller battery pack, the Ola S1 e-scooter also misses out on a few features. We will explain this in a proper comparison article soon. Stay tuned!