Last unit of the Mahindra e2o was rolled out of the production lines on March 31; will reportedly be replaced by electric KUV100
Mahindra & Mahindra has reportedly stopped the production of e2o, the country’s first zero-emission mainstream vehicle. The tiny city runabout is no more as the last of the e2o Plus was rolled out of the production lines on March 31. The e2o Plus has been shelved as part of the brand’s rejig in its electric vehicle strategy.
However, it will continue to be sold in markets like Nepal. The e2o Plus will be replaced by the electric version of the KUV100 micro SUV that has long been suspected to arrive in the domestic market. Mahindra’s electric division bought controlling stakes in Reva Electric Car Co (RECC) nine years ago.
It enabled the homegrown automaker to have a dash at the almost non-existent electric vehicle space far ahead of its traditional rivals. The e2o Plus, based on the Reva platform, could not get the push due to a number of reasons as government’s uncertain EV policy and the difficulties involved in its usage and space led to the downfall.
The e2o succeeded REVAi or G-Wiz as known in the United Kingdom and it has been in production one form or the other since 2013. Locally assembled in Karnataka, the three-door hatchback is offered in P2, P4 and P6 variants. The P2 has the highest driving range of 140 km while the other two can drive up to 110 km each on a single charge.
The P2 variant can be charged using a 3 kW single-phase 16 Amp charger with charging time of 7 hours and 20 minutes. The 10 kW three phase 32 Amp charger reduces the time to just an hour and 35 minutes. Mahindra equips lithium-ion battery pack with a standard warranty of 3 years and 60,000 km.
The four-seater urban hatchback uses a direct drive transmission with two forward ratios. All the three variants produce 25.4 horsepower at 3,500 rpm and 70 Nm of peak torque delivered at 1,050 rpm. The e2o Plus has technologies like regenerative braking, smartphone app connectivity helping in locking/unlocking the car as well as pre-cooling. iEMS sharing health reports of the vehicle, etc.
Mahindra showcased the near-production e-KUV100 at the 2018 Auto Expo and is expected to launch the model in the second half of this year. It could have a range close to 140 km and be offered with fast charging option. In H2 2020, Mahindra will introduce the electrified XUV300 and it will likely be sold in two battery configurations that are much improved from the existing system found in the e-Verito.