Mahindra working on four-passenger electric car

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), known for its rivalry with Tata Motors for the Jaguar and Land Rover nameplates, or more recently for having turned down the purchase of Hummer from General Motors, has announced that it is tossing its hat into the full-size electric vehicle (EV) ring. The current dominant EV in India, the Reva (known in some markets as the G-Wiz) will not be threatened by the new car, which is proposed to be a four-seater and priced somewhat above the smaller Reva EV.

The Reva G-Wiz, or in some markets known simply as the Reva, made famous in part by many segments mocking its performance and crash-worthiness on the British TV show TopGear, is a tiny electric vehicle featuring just enough room for two adults and two small children and a top speed of about 40mph (64km/h). Despite the modest accommodations and performance, the Reva EV is currently the dominant EV in India, thanks in part to its relatively low price and small operating costs.

The M&M car would improve significantly on the Reva's utility and practicality, especially as those factors are perceived by European and American markets, though the car will not be launched outside India until the bugs are worked out of the supply and production process, according to a company official, reports The Financial Express.

“We plan to launch the product in the country first and mature in the segment before venturing into foreign markets. We want to be prepared for the market and don’t want to be caught unawares,” said an M&M spokesman.

The car will feature low-tech lead acid batteries initially, transitioning to more modern nickel-metal hydride batteries once the core package is in order. M&M has plans to leverage the underlying technology for the new car into a wider range of products, potentially including its existing line of three-wheeled EVs. Tata Motors, on the other hand, is hard at work on an EV project of its own in cooperation with Norway, where it will launch a test fleet within a year, with global sales planned from very near the start.