The PSU Road To Green Transport And Profits

EESL Is an Unlikely Psu; It Neither Manufactures Nor Distributes. What It Does Is Create Demand. It Has Turned Its Sights on Electric Vehicles Now.
 

- Prerna Lidhoo & Gauri Chauhan

BACK IN 2008, Gopalkrishna Vishwanath, a retired structural engineer based in Bengaluru, decided he owed it to the world to go green. He bought himself a Reva, then the country’s only electric vehicle. The first model of the Reva looked like a cartoonist’s impression of a small car, and its distinctive design made Vishwanath a legend in his locality; the kids called him ‘Reva uncle’ and everyone became accustomed to the little silver car being taken out on its weekly journey to the shops or to Vishwanath’s family in the vicinity.

The car’s somewhat eccentric looks made it look very cheerful, but Vishwanath says it wasn’t convenient at all. For one, he could make no unplanned drives, even to the shops, since the car took nine hours to charge, and there were no convenient charging points en route. A full charge would take the car 70 km, so he could definitely not go on long road trips.

Vishwanath sold the Reva in 2014 and still remembers it fondly. At the same time, he’s happy to no longer have to worry about charging and maintenance. He now drives a petrolengine Hyundai hatchback, steering clear of the headache of charging.

CUT TO 2018, NOIDA. The 14th Auto Expo seemed somewhat duller than usual, with many big names choosing to stay away. But what stood out was the prevalence of electric vehicles. Almost every manufacturer present had some variant of a battery-operated car or bike or scooter.

Tata Motors showcased three concept electric vehicles for passengers and three commercial vehicles. Mahindra & Mahindra showed the concepts for an electric variant of its compact sports utility vehicle, the KUV100, an updated version of its existing electric vehicle the e2o, as well as a couple of other concepts in the commercial space. It also displayed a new electric platform.