REVA cars

Indian-American joint venture

With 3,000 electric cars in operation, the company is in 24 countries worldwide and now has over 70 million km of user experience. It is the manufacturer of the G-Wiz, the UK’s most popular all-electric car.

Based in Bangalore, the Reva Electric Car Company is a joint venture between the MAINI Group of India and AEV LLC of California. The company develops all the key technologies in-house including energy-management systems, telematics and fast-charging.

Born Green electric cars

REVA differentiates itself from other car companies by being ‘Born Green’. Every REVA car is manufactured using a process that uses less energy and produces fewer emissions than conventional car manufacturers. As well as having zero emissions, its new range of cars (see below), will be produced in REVA’s new low carbon assembly plant in Bangalore that is being built to REVA’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines. Among other things, the plant harvests rainwater, uses natural light and ventilation, and employs solar energy for electricity and heating.

The combination of car and plant design, and battery recycling, means that the new cars will have one of the lowest dust to dirt carbon footprints of any car in mass production.

Planned capacity of the new plant is 30,000 units a year – placing REVA at the forefront of the world’s pure electric car makers.

G-Wiz all electric car – a London icon

REVA’s cars are distributed in the UK by GoinGreen, described by Newsweek in February 2008 as 'the largest zero emissions auto distributor on the planet today.' Within two years of its 2004 launch, REVA’s G-Wiz (its UK model name) had become the UK’s best selling electric car and London the electric car capital of the world.

Minimised price

From the beginning the company's goal has been to enable as many motorists as possible to 'go green'. The company has minimised the price of the G-Wiz by eliminating many of the traditional industry costs. GoinGreen sells direct to customers with no dealers, no showrooms, no advertising, and no brochures. Most test drives are undertaken by G-Wiz owners, rather than by GoinGreen employees and the company has pioneered servicing and maintenance at customers' homes or work places, by its own mobile workshop.

Quadricycle

The G-Wiz is technically a ‘quadricycle’, the primary criteria for which are a maximum weight of 400 kg (unladen weight without batteries) and a maximum power output of 15 kw. It meets all the automotive mechanical and electrical regulations for full EU Type Approval for a quadricycle, GoinGreen says that although the G-Wiz is road legal for all roads in the UK, it is primarily designed as a light, low speed, commuter vehicle in London and the company does not recommend its use on motorways and fast roads.
 
The G-Wiz electric car goes lithium-ion

There are currently two G-Wiz models, the G-Wiz i and the recently introduced G-Wiz L-ion. They share the same body style: a two door,2+2 hatchback; both models are automatic and both have zero ‘tailpipe’ emissions.

The older model has a lead-acid battery which has been replaced by a new lithium-ion battery in the G-Wiz L-ion. The new battery technology extends the vehicle’s range from 40 miles to 70 miles on mixed roads, and reduces the charging time. On the older model, 100% charging takes eight hours (80% in 2.5 hours) and on the G-Wiz L-ion 100% charging is reduced to six hours (80% in 3.25 hours).

The cost of the electricity consumed for a full charge in the new model is up to 90p, depending on the electricity tariff. There is a fast charge option on the G-Wiz L-ion from a specific charging unit which reduces a full charge to 90 minutes. The lithium-ion batteries are sealed for life and require no maintenance, unlike the lead-acid batteries which need regular watering and equalisation.

Both models have a top speed of 51 mph. The turning circle is 3.5 metres and both have regenerative braking.
The price of the G-Wiz L-ion is from £15,795 on the road and the G-Wiz i is £8,495 on the road.

Arrival of REVA’s next generation of electric cars

At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009, REVA unveiled its next generation of electric cars. There are two new models: the REVA NXR, which will commence production in REVA’s new low carbon emission plant in Bangalore in the first quarter of 2010, and the REVA NXG which will be produced from the first quarter 2011.

New cutting edge NXR

The all-new REVA NXR is designed as an everyday all-electric car for pollution-free city commuting. It is an M1 category, three door hatchback with four seats – a highway safe vehicle with a high strength steel space frame, a large front crumple zone, side impact beams and ‘dent proof’ body panels.

The NXR is available in two variants:

• The NXR Intercity has a lithium ion phosphate battery pack, offering a range of 100 miles and an 8 hour charge time; it has a fast charge option providing 100% charge in 1.5 hours – a 15 minute fast charge offers a range of 25 miles. The top speed is 65 mph.

• The NXR City has a lead acid battery pack giving a range of 50 miles and 100% charge in 8 hours – an 80% charge takes 2.5 hours. The top speed of 50 mph.

The REVA NXR has keyless entry and operation, dual charge ports for normal and fast charging, intelligent digital display and a range of telematics. These include SMS alerts and commands such as distance-to-empty and time-to-full charge, remote cabin heat/cool, a monthly eco-drive check by email, service and insurance alerts, remote diagnostics and healing and REVive remote emergency charge.

A cure for electric car range anxiety?

REVive is exclusive to REVA and acts like an invisible reserve fuel tank and addresses 'range anxiety'. If a customer runs out of charge, they can telephone or SMS REVA's customer support centre. The advanced telematics feature will assess the car's batteries remotely and activate a reserve amount of energy while protecting the battery life. Within minutes, a few extra miles of range are made available via the telematics and the driver can continue home or to a place where the NXR can be charged.

Futuristic new REVA NXG

The REVA NXG is an M1 category, three-door, two-seater car with a removable, targa style top. REVA says ‘the NXG’s muscular styling and design are both futuristic and sensual’. It has a range of 125 miles per charge and a top speed of 80 miles per hour. It features the same telematics and advanced technologies as the REVA NXR, including REVive.

Priority waiting list for electric cars

REVA has taken the unusual step of introducing a priority waiting list enabling customers to reserve an NXR or NXG by an online fully refundable payment. REVA has also announced prices well in advance of the European launch. Customers will be offered the option of purchasing the car and batteries separately, or at an all-inclusive price. If bought separately, the benefit will be a lower purchase price, with the batteries paid for on a monthly basis as part of a monthly mobility fee, which could also include electricity, telematics and other services.

European electric car pricing

Average prices in Europe, excluding batteries, are 15,000 euros (October 2009: about £13,900) plus a monthly mobility fee for the lithium-ion NXR Intercity version. The REVA NXR City, with lead acid batteries is also available from around 10,000 euros (October 2009: about £9,250) and a small monthly mobility fee.

The European pricing for the NXG excluding lithium-ion batteries starts at around 23,000 euros (October 2009: about £21,300) plus a monthly mobility fee.

REVA supplies technology for GM Spark electric car

In September 2009, General Motors announced a tie-up with REVA to produce a battery-powered version of GM’s mini car, Spark. GM supplies the vehicle platform and manufacturing facilities while REVA provides the battery, electric drive train and power management systems. Production of the vehicle starts in 2010.