Mahindra Reva opens Quick2Charge station in Bangalore

Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles has opened a Quick2Charge station that facilitates faster charging of its e2O electric car. Speaking at the launch, Chetan Maini, CEO, Mahindra Reva, said: “The Quick2Charge DC fast-charging station can charge the Mahindra e2O completely in under 60 minutes. One can get a range of 25km in just 15 minutes.”

New smart port technology enables intelligent control of bi-directional transfer of energy to and from the electric vehicle. The Quick2Charge station differs from the existing charging stations that the company has installed in various parts of the country, primarily Bangalore. Regular charging with a 15 amp socket will take five hours to fully charge the e2O at a rate of one hour for 20km, said Maini.

Initially, Mahindra Reva plans to install Quick2Charge stations at 20 locations in Bangalore, later expanding to New Delhi and other parts of the country. The company is looking to set up these charging stations under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) model.

The EV maker also launched its easy buying scheme called ‘Goodbye Fuel, Hello Electric’. This programme separates the initial acquisition cost of the e2O and the usage cost (in the form of battery and its maintenance) to make the green car more affordable. It also guarantees the performance of the battery as the ownership of the battery lies with Mahindra Reva.

Under the scheme, the customer has to make a down-payment (ranging from Rs 499,999 to Rs 599,999 for three e2O variants) with Rs 2,999 to be paid as energy fee every month. This allows the customer to drive 50,000km (800km of usage per month) over five years. With rising fuel prices, this programme, the company says, allows the customer to beat inflation by locking in the running cost for five years. The down-payment for the Base e2O is Rs 499,999, Rs 555,499 for the Premium variant and Rs 599,999 for the Premium+Quick2Charge version.

Maini said, “This first-of-its-kind initiative guarantees customers battery performance coupled with inflation-proof running costs. We firmly believe this ownership experience will set a milestone in the way people perceive and own electric vehicles in the country.”

He also said the company has started exporting e2O vehicles to Nepal. It is under the process of testing vehicles for the European market; exports to the UK and other European countries are expected to begin by the end of this year.