Daniel Pepper’s article The Reva: Why Americans May Never See the Best New Car on the Road is an interesting article about the Reva, its background and how it is doing in other parts of the world.
After almost a year of delays, the Indian automobile manufacturer Tata is finally set to answer that call by releasing the world’s cheapest car next month. Priced at about $2,000, the Tata Nano is a five-seat, air-conditioned, gasoline-powered car. It is also a nightmare for environmentalists, who predict sky-high sales will further pollute India’s already smog-filled air.
So why isn’t India’s other indigenous automotive invention taking the world by storm? The Reva is the world’s most successful electric vehicle. Manufactured on the outskirts of the south Indian city of Bangalore, it is as popular there as it is on the streets of London. Cumulatively it has been driven a combined 55 million kilometers in 20 major cities around the world.
But despite patented technologies, government subsidies, a groundswell of interest in electric vehicles and innovative marketing practices, the Reva is unlikely to dent the global automobile market with as much force as the Nano.
I’m glad that the Reva is getting this sort of coverage. I think it’s an important car and I hope it’ll be made more affordable in the future. You can see the car in Bangalore quite often and it’s nice to see that people are choosing a green car, even though it’s not inexpensive. We need more people to drive non-polluting cars.
Here’s the article link again.
Amorphous 