Development and Production Start-Up of an Urban Electric Vehicle for India

摘要

The REVA is a ground-up electric vehicle designed for India urban driving conditions. The vehicle has passed homologation requirements for India and has been approved for commercial sales and use on roads in India. Over 20 vehicles have been under test in the US and India for up to 3 years. Vehicles have been used in several Indian cities, and have been exposed to typical winter, summer and monsoon rain conditions. Shaker life cycle tests, home charging test and analysis have been conducted. The vehicle is now being tooled for production. The vehicle' s design allows it to be manufactured and tooled at low cost and done indigenously. It incorporates advanced battery management, HVAC and power control systems. The paper discusses the design process, key features and technologies and the production start up plan for the project.