GoinGreen, the UK distributor of Reva's G-Wiz, has announced prices and specifications of the tiny quadricycle with upgraded lithium ion batteries. The good news: the new model has a range of up to 75 miles, up from 48 in the older, non-li-ion version. Both models sport a 51 mph top speed, but the new lithium-powered version costs almost twice as much as the standard one: base prices start at £15,795 and £7,995, respectively. The li-ion version will also be available with an optional fast charge unit and uses about 20 percent less energy to charge. See more differences between the two models in this spec sheet. If you have a non-li-ion G-Wiz, GoinGreen will offer to convert your car to the new powertrain. Price TBA.

GoingGreen claims that this car is "the world's first mainstream electric vehicle powered by lithium-ion battery technology." Well, that's kind of bold. Is the G-Wiz more "mainstream" than a Tesla Roadster because of the price? Delivery of the G-Wiz L-ion will commence in May. More details after the jump.


[Source: GoinGreen]

REVA, the Indian electric car company that produces mostly NEVs, has announced that is building a new manufacturing facility near Bangalore, India. The new 18,212 m² plant, which is expected to produce 30,000 units per year, will build both the current REVAi model (known as the G-Wiz in the UK) as well as a new model using lithium-ion batteries by the end of the current year. REVA also announced that the plant is environmentally friendly: it uses harvested rainwater, maximizes the use of natural ventilation and light, solar energy harvesting, steel structure technology and a CO₂ monitor. All this guarantees that it gets the LEED environmental certification. The Indian manufacturer has already about 2,000 EVs zapping around London and Bangalore and distributes its models in some eight other European countries. Full press release after the jump.


[Source: REVA]

Having just announced the coming availability of lithium ion power to their vehicles, the REVA Electric Car Company (RECC) is sending three of the new variants on the road with the Indian Climate Solutions Road Tour. Company founder and CTO, Chetan Maini, was at the send off and spoke about the Tour being a great opportunity for the company to "showcase its advanced technology to battle environmental issues."

These specially-prepared REVA L-ions each sport an eco-statement paint scheme as well as a solar-paneled roof which should add a few extra miles to the car's range. Speaking of range, Mangalorean.com states that these cars can go between 93 and 124 miles on a charge, somewhat further than the 75 miles that the REVA L-ions available for sale are said to be capable of. The trip will cover 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) and travel through 15 cities and is meant to raise awareness and convert that awareness into action. Hit the jump for video of a news spot featuring footage of the cars at the event and Mr. Maini talking about the new batteries and new sales markets.

[Source: Mangalorean.com / Indian Climate Solutions Road Tour]

India's most famous electric car maker, Reva, is now giving prospective buyers in Europe the opportunity of turning their new REVAi into a REVA L-ion by offering a lithium-ion power source for the 2+2 city car. The modern battery gives the little EV increased performance while reducing charging time and maintenance. Numbers-wise, that means a 75-mile range with a 50 mph top speed. Acceleration times haven't been released but we expect that just the reduced weight of the cars power source alone will go a little way towards adding some pick-me-up. Equipped with a proprietary battery management system (BMS), the lithium ions should offer owners a substantially longer battery-pack lifetime and will come with a three-year warranty.

Also available now is an off-board charger, one that requires 3-phase power, that can give you a 90 percent charge in an hour. That's substantially less than the 6 hours it takes to fill up from an ordinary socket. The current lead acid batteries take 8 hours to charge completely. If you already own the REVAi model, which is itself an upgraded version of the not-so-crashworthy original, you will be able to purchase a lithium ion kit a little later on in the year. Get all the niggling details in the press release after the break. Thanks to Jeff for the tip!


[Source: g-wiz owners club]

In light of reports of slow electric car sales in the UK and the NICE Car Company's collapse, the distributor of the Reva G-Wiz i, GoinGreen, wants to let everyone know that they are still around and doing just fine, thank you very much. Although their sales are about half of what they were in 2007, they are claiming "good financial health" and expect that the downturn in the economy will affect them positively since their battery-powered buggies are inexpensive to buy and operate in a British motoring environment that's fraught with costly congestion charges, exorbitant parking fees and steep fuel prices.

In the case of the G-Wiz i, it's suffering sales are likely more closely related to bad publicity from horrendous crash results broadcast by the popular Top Gear television show than the economy. Although they've made improvements to both drivetrain and chassis since then and are now offering their Indian-sourced vehicle at a discounted £7,995 (on the road!), the design is starting to get a little long in the tooth and some buyers may be holding out for the UK rollout of the Th!nk City or Mitsubishi i MiEV. Hopefully, Reva will come through on their promise of new models and help GoinGreen remain a going concern. Find an official statement from GoinGreen after the jump.


[Source: GoinGreen]

If you know about the Indian car maker Reva, it's probably becasue of the G-Wiz, that tiny icon of the EV scene (if you're not familiar with the G-Wiz, this is the place to start). In October, Reva's chief technology officer, Chetan Maini, told Business Green that the company hopes to ramp up production capacity to 30,000 vehicles a year. This is a tall order, as the Hindu Businessline says that Reva expects to sell just 750 cars this year. So, what's so bright on Reva's horizon that has the CTO so confident? One new model a year for the next thee or four years (and these will be larger vehicles - how could they be smaller?), the possibility of moving to a battery leasing scheme, and modular concepts that will allow Reva to build the new models without the seven year-long R&D period that the G-Wiz had.


[Source: Business Green via Green Car Congress]

Above: Mahindra's Appalachian pickup truck

Right now, the Reva G-Wiz has the Indian electric car market cornered. Rumors indicate that this may not be the case for long, though, as both Tata Motors and now Mahindra - India's two largest automakers - both have plans in place for zero-emission vehicles of their own. While we've heard about Tata's plans for both electrically-driven and air-propelled Nano microcars, this is the first we've heard of an EV from Mahindra, the company which has been making news with its plans to introduce new diesel and hybrid trucks and SUVs into the American market.

Mahindra's new EV would come with four seats, making it eminently more practical than the Reva. According to reports, the automaker would first launch the vehicle in its home market of India, which would act as a test-bed for the technology, before exporting to other countries. Would the U.S. be one of them? Time will tell, and consumer opinion over Mahindra's upcoming trucks and 'utes will likely play a big role in finding an answer.

[Source: CarTradeIndia.com]

Endesa, a Spanish-based (Italian-owned) utility company will be soon distributing to its customers in Santiago Chile an EV car. The model, the Reva EV (which we tried in Barcelona last year) hasn't been much of a big seller in most of Europe (40 units in Spain) so the distribution via the own utility company in Latin America seems quite a good deal. The Reva is currently going through homologation procedures throughout Latin America, except Argentina. Endesa's subsidiary in Latin America, CAM, will not only sell the Reva but will also create charging stations once enough models are sold. Details about how the cars will be sold/leased are yet unknown.

[Source: Endesa via Econoticias]

The Reva Electric Car Company has officially made the REVAi (A.K.A. the G-Wiz i) available for sale in its native India. It has high expectations for sales of the improved award winner in its homeland, saying they would be very happy to sell 3,000 vehicles in Delhi this year. No doubt, since it has only sold 2,500 units so far in 13 other countries. They expect and are preparing for a sharp increase in demand as the company plans on quintupling its production capacity from its current 6,000 units per annum to 30,000 by the end of this year, although it may actually take a full three years to ramp up to those output numbers.

Besides not having an expensive-to-fill gas tank, REVAi sales may also benefit from several tax incentives. There is a 15 percent subsidy on the base price, it's exempt from a 12.5 percent value added tax (VAT), and, in Delhi, it gets a refund of a road tax and registration fees. After all the discounts, Indians are looking at a base price of Rs299,000 (US$7,000) for the 50 mph capable, 80 mile ranging (50 miles with the A/C) vehicle. Future plans include adding a new model and new model variant in each of the coming years and possibly the creation of something a bit bigger.

[Source: Automotive World]

At first we thought somebody out there was exercising their ninja photoshop skillz but then it occurred to us that those folks would probably not be busying themselves with the likes of the G-Wiz. No, this had to be the product of a mind so sick, so twisted, that it created the original Reva G-Wiz, on which this pick-em-up truck appears to be based, to begin with. Luckily, we live in the age of the internets and after sending out a correctly formatted query down a tube, back shot the hoped-for response.

From a page created somewhere back in the mist of time (2006) came the reassuring news that this crime sin peccancy iteration of the G-Wiz was a one-off built as a test bed for a phosphoric acid fuel cell. This cell used methanol instead of hydrogen as an energy source and negated the need for a hydrogen storage system. Of course, it also created the need for a methanol storage system but that's beside the point. Since nary a peep has been heard about this creation since an article describing the project was published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, we feel it's safe to assume the concept has been put to rest. If you want to make sure that this is the case you'll have to pick up a copy of the latest magazine published by the Battery Vehicle Society (BVS) and look for an article about the truck written by Mike Boxwell.

[Source: G-Wiz Owners Club]