A Spark EV will developed, built and sold in India next year, and then exported to where?
General Motors India and Reva Electric Car Company will jointly develop and produce an electric version of the diminutive Chevrolet Spark for the Indian market.
The agreement was announced yesterday by Karl Slym, president and managing director, General Motors India and Chetan Maini, deputy chairman and chief technology officer, Reva.
GM will supply the manufacturing and the Spark platform, Reva the electronics, when production begins sometime late next year.
Reva says it is selling, or test marketing, Evs in Europe and Asia, as well as Latin and Central America. Reva has the largest fleet of electric cars on the market with more than 3,000 EVs on the road and more than 70 million kilometers of user experience.
“GM’s ability to develop platforms and REVA’s capability in developing electric drive-trains and control systems will result in, the consumer having a wider choice of EVs. We are going to be working closely with the Central and State Governments in India to develop infrastructure for electric vehicle charging and providing specific financial benefits to consumers, who make the choice to adopt an environment-friendly mode of personal transport,” said Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, GM India
GM is pursuing several energy alternatives and advanced technology options to meet what it sees as the varied needs of customers around the world. GM believes that electrically driven vehicles, based on battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology, offer the best long-term solution for providing sustainable personal transportation. However, long term appears to be a long way off. Moreover, interim steps such as the +$40,000 Chevrolet Volt due late next year in the U.S. will require massive subsidies to make them commercially viable.
As anyone who has ever visited India knows, environmental awareness, a luxury for wealthy countries, is virtually non-existent among the vast majority of India’s impoverished population.
Still, Reva is selling a small number of EVs in India for about $7,000, and the Indian car market is expected to grow at double-digit rates during the next decade.
Reva showed the NXR a tiny four-seat, three-door hatchback at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The Bangalore-based company claims NXR suitable for urban driving. Production is scheduled to for the beginning of 2010. The company is building a new assembly plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 units.
“Each of the partners will use its strengths, with the aim of making India a global hub for the development and manufacture of electric vehicles and related technologies. I am extremely happy that we have found a partner in GM India that shares our passion for reducing carbon emissions,” said Chetan Maini, Deputy Chairman and CTO, Reva Electric Car Company.
GM India produces the Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet SR-V, Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Tavera for sale in India and operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Halol, Gujarat and in Talegaon, Maharashtra.