Mahindra e2o - The beginning of a paradigm shift

Update - November 2013

Please find more updates on this BLOG in my other website - www.pluginindia.com
http://www.pluginindia.com/1/post/2013/09/why-i-got-the-mahindra-e2o.html

I will be posting all my updates only at www.pluginindia.com
So please bookmark the link!


Hello there!

       After not owning any sort of vehicle in my life (have lived 30+ years of it), i decided that its time to have some sort of option for personal mobility. So i decided to buy a car.

Most people buy a car just to satisfy a desire, once the desire is satisfied, they get pissed off with the rising costs of maintaining the damn thing and then crib about the sky rocketing fuel prices.  Some people even take huge loans and once the desire finishes giving them their 'false happiness', they are stuck with their vehicle and see it as a big burden.            
I also know lot of people, who buy a car but use a two wheeler most of the time - pissed off with the sky rocketing fuel prices and high maintenance aspect of their oil based cars.

Of-course the above is not true for people who are well off and don't care bout the price of oil. The above applies to our middle class.

And of-course there are people who have resigned to the fate, bout high fuel prices and just pay it.

I did not want to make the same mistake. I knew there had to be a better option. 

• An option, where i would feel like using my car for a long time, rather than see it as a burden. 
• An option, where i knew that using my car would not burn a hole in my pocket due to fuel prices and maintenance.
• An option, which would ensure that i don't give my money to large corporations (read OIL).
• An option, where i knew that using a car would keep the air in our cities clean.
• An option, which would ensure i always have fun driving my car.

After waiting for months, The Mahindra e2o electric car was launched in India on March 18th 2013.  

Launch of  the Solar Powered e2o in Delhi

And i instantly knew that this was the missing option that our Indian public never had!!

• It does not use oil!  Ha! Take that, u oil companies!
• It does not pollute!
• It uses advanced Lithium-Ion battery packs used even by top American and Japanese electric cars like the Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf.
• It can run on the power of the Sun
• You can always stay connected to your car using your mobile phone.
• Its an electric car and has less moving parts than oil based cars and thus is virtually maintenance free
• It uses Indian made electricity rather than foreign oil, which keeps my running costs down and helps my country.
• It does not have an oil based engine, coolant system, oil filters, fan belts, exhaust pipes, transmission changes, oil changes, and nothing to do with oil, oil and oil!!  :)

So i decided that this was the perfect option and there would be great demand for this car. 

However, there were some barriers for lots of people.

Cost
The car costs Rs 6 to 7.5 Lakhs and judging by the comments on the Mahindra Facebook page, people were disappointed that this car cost so much. Most countries in the world offer generous subsidies to ensure people go electric and thus help them reduce their OIL import bill.  But our Indian government has no such scheme, although the 'National mission for electric mobility' was launched in January.

Costs!

Now the cost.  There are furious arguments bout the prohibitive cost of this car.  I agree and wished, Mahindra could have kickstarted this with more aggressive pricing.  A cost of 5.5 to 6 lakhs would have had more takers.
When i thought bout this, i realized that the e2o is one of the cheapest Lithium-Ion based electric cars in the world at the rate of $12000 to $15000. 
The Tesla Model S costs an approximate $60000.  The Nissan Leaf costs around $30000. The newly launched BMW i3 electric costs around $40000.
So here we had Indian engineering being delivered at the fraction of the cost.

The battery pack of an electric car is the most expensive component.  The Mahindra e2o has a battery pack that can store 10kWh worth of energy.  Apparently, Mahindra pays $550 per kWh for the Lithium packs.  So the battery pack itself costs around $5500. This amounts to Rs 330000 and thus the high cost.

Also i would avoid comparing the e2o with the cheapest petrol based car - Nano.
People do this all the time and its wrong, as the e2o has way too many cool features to be compared to the Nano.  People make a table, compare the e2o with the cheap cars available in the market and make their point that his car does not give them value.
My argument against such people is that, if there is a comparison to be made - then compare the e2o with cars of similar class and then look at the savings.

So after analyzing this important fact, i realized its okay to pay a premium for technology that was new and for a car that would help me save money every time i drove, due to the low running costs and virtually no maintenance.
It would have been cool to have some sort of help from the government, but sadly it was not to be.

Range in an EV

Range
People would not like to pay Rs 6 to 7 Lakhs for a car which just goes just 100 kilometers and which needs to be charged. These are the same people who would willingly spend the same money on a premium hatchback like the oil powered Nissan Micra, Honda Brio etc. 
Why?  The only reason is that they could do 'long distance travel'. 
Now all of a sudden when people analyze the range of an electric car - everybody wants to go on road trips every weekend, everyone become road warriors - atleast in their heads :)

What everybody ignores is the fact that, most people use their car, 95% of the times in the cities. Going to work, running errands, picking up people etc.
I realized that by buying the e2o i will have to sacrifice long distance driving. Which i would gladly do and whenever i need to go long distance, i would take the train or use the bus or rent a gas car using the savings and the cash that the e2o is printing for me :)
An interesting point to note is that, the e2o is charged using a 15A socket. This means that i could still go on day trips to the mountains near Pune and if needed, charge the car in some hotel or dhabha as the 15A socket is very common.
Yep. I could still make a nice day trip using the e2o.
Heck! I can even do Pune-Mumbai if Mahindra installs their quick charging system.  That would be cool :)

Dependence on the grid
Some people are even skeptical bout depending on electricity!!!  They fear that the grid will collapse and electric cars will get stranded!   That applies to OIL too, which by the way is a much more volatile commodity.
Also electricity is generated in India. Whereas OIL is imported from countries that hate us!
Anyway people just want to make an argument for the sake of it and they make it :)

Man's greatest invention - Electricity

Now the e2o takes 10 units of electricity per charge. Suppose i charge say 3 times a week. That would mean 12 times a month = 120 units a month = Rs 480 (at Rs 4 per unit) just to operate the car. Compare that to Rs 5000 or 6000 people spend of petrol each month.
The cost savings are huge.  

Granted that prices of power too could rise, but we could always offset that by installing Solar Panels and run the e2o from the power of the sun for free.

See!! An electric car provides you options that don't exist with an oil based car.  With an oil based car, people are stuck/dependent on the Middle East, the Government and the oil companies.

Speed
Speed junkies crib bout the top speed of 80kmph.  But that is more that what i need and if i need to speed up and accelerate, i still can go fast. And by the way an electric car has max torque right at 0 RPM (revolutions per minute) and thus the acceleration of the e2o is quiet peppy when u step on the pedal.  An internal combustion engine cannot give you max torque at 0 RPM.

Battery Replacement
Yes, i will have to spend around Rs 1 Lakh (current rate) on a new Lithium-Ion Battery pack after 4-5 years.
This is a big amount and is something to be thought bout. However battery technology is evolving pretty fast.And the cost of the batteries have dropped dramatically. They have dropped in half in the last 4 years.  Experts in the field say that they will drop further in the next 4 years.Here's a nifty little idea which would put to bed, this worry.
Anyone buying an e2o, can create a recurring deposit of Rs 2000 every month and thus use the interest got from a bank to pay for the battery pack :)

Reliability of the e2o
There is a valid question asked by people.  How reliable would this car be?  As its the first car released by Mahindra Reva.  Its basically a version 1.0 product.
I did some research and found that not be to true.   
The concept for this car was developed way back in 2009 and was displayed in the 2009 Frankfurt auto show.
The e2o's predecessor was the Reva which was sold worldwide. So its not as if the e2o is a V1.0 version of the car. There have been lots of customer insights from Reva users and feedback has been received and implemented here in the e2o.

So there should be no worries bout the reliability of e2o as its built on the Reva Platform.

Its a green world with the Mahindra e2o

So having analyzed the shortcomings, the costs, the barriers, i realized this car is perfect for me and i would go for it.  I waited for months hoping that i would get the benefit of a subsidy from our government.
But once i saw no action from our lethargic government, i just went to the dealership - took lots of test drives, loved it and booked it.  :)

I got the yellow e2o after a month of waiting. I went to the dealer with a friend and saw the shiny new e2o getting ready for puja and prayers.  Its a nice touch by Mahindra to ensure that all their dealers perform a ritual/prayer for Lord Ganesh - the remover of obstacles.

EVA is born

Offering to Lord Ganesh

So i named the yellow bombshell - EVA.  It just came to me that morning :)

Here are some photos of EVA along with captions explaining them.

EVA getting charged in the basement of my apartment

REVA was the pioneer - Just a reminder

Steering View

Spacious at the front and back

Coolest dash u will see on Indian roads

7 inch touch screen - GPS Navigation, iPod, USB, SD Card, Bluetooth, DVD, Reverse Camera. Even luxury sedans don't have these features. 

OK now we discuss my experience of using the e2o during the first month.  I shall call the car - EVA.
As that's what i named her :)

• First thing u notice, how quiet EVA is.  She really is quiet, especially when the AC is turned off.
  That is because there is no engine noise.  You hear a faint whine of the electric motor. 
• You step on it then you observe that there is good acceleration due to the instant torque but you don't feel the vibration and they don't hear the noise. Its just a smooth acceleration.  All EVs are like this and i was pleasantly surprised that the e2o was this silent.
• The Range estimation is very accurate provided we stick to using the 'F' (Forward) mode and not accelerating in an inefficient way.
  For example we traveled from Baner to Amanora Town Center in Pune - a distance of 22 km.  The charge on EVA while starting was 98km. We drove with the AC on all the time and FM radio playing.
  When i got back the range left was 50km.  So it used up 48km worth of energy for a distance of 44km.  It consumed 4km worth of range for the AC and the electronics.
• EVA is such a pleasure to drive with the automatic transmission especially in stop and go traffic.
• Very good braking system. We got down from 60 to a virtual standstill in bout 4 seconds.
• We reached a top speed of 84 kms in the Mumbai-Pune Old Highway. Unlike the Internal Combustion Engine cars, EVA does not make any fuss/noises when stretched to its limits. That's bcos there are no moving parts apart from the motor.
• I hardly use the Boost mode. I stick to Forward most all the time, I only use the Boost mode if i need to go beyond 65kmph.  The Forward mode is more economical.
• All u need is a 15A socket to charge her.
• A techie's dream - 7 inch touch screen - GPS Navigation, iPod, USB, SD Card, Bluetooth, DVD, Reverse Camera, Mobile phone integration - even luxury sedans don't have these features. 
• Almost 0 maintenance vehicle. All we need to change is brake oil and tire checkups once a year. Also the Mahindra Authorized Service guy told me to better to check for air pressure of 35 ps. Its better add some air once a month in the tires.
• No Power Steering. The lack of power steering is not noticed when changing lanes or slowing down during a turn etc. But its noticed when at lower rev's.
• Scratch & Dent proof body - a plus in Indian chaos.
• An all digital car - where EVA gets various software upgrades that can give added functionality in the future. This again is a first.  Your car grows with age :)

Smartphone Integration - Ensures user is always connected with the car

Here are some frequently asked questions and hopefully i can answer them.

• Will we get the entire 100km as range in the e2o?
  Yes. If you don't use the climate control and drive using the 'F' (Forward) mode and not using 'Boost' mode often. Also step on the accelerator gently instead of pushing it hard. This will ensure gradual release of electrons that move between the Cathode and Anode, rather than forcing them to move fast through the electrolyte, which results in loss :)
• Is 100km range enough?
  It depends.  In a city like Pune its perfect, as i can traverse the length & breadth of the city and still have some juice left on me.  In bigger cities - you might have to charge the car to get back.
  But trust me - 100km is a fairly large distance.  And this will work for lots of users.
• Have u really gotten in a situation where u run out of range and u r stuck?This would never happen, as i know the exact distance of my journey and i plan ahead for it. If am doing a 60km ride, i ensure that i fully charge the batteries.  Well, even if you are stuck, there is this cool REVIVE feature where Mahindra will remotely activate some power for you to go on.  Its clever move by Mahindra to preserve the life of a battery pack as Lihium-Ion batteries don't like to be deep discharged.

That's all i could think off.  Feel free to ask more questions and i shall answer them, if i can.

So there you have it folks, EVA is quirky, quiet, does not pollute and is electrifying :)

EVA - Center of attraction

She is the center of all attraction. Everybody asks questions / looks at her.Look at the photo above. This is near my office and people are crowding around me asking questions.



My friend - Dude who was a complete EV cynic has now made a 180 degree turn after enjoying the EV experience.  It was eye opening experience for him. And is considering buying an e2o.
You hear stories like this all the time in the EV world.

Dude - An ex EV cynic totally floored by EVA :)

What it takes for people to get interested in these vehicles, is a test drive. Once they get on the car - step on it then they see that there is good acceleration due to the instant torque but they don't feel the vibration and they don't hear the noise. Its just a smooth acceleration.  

Then they realize that -
"Oh My God! This is a good car!"

Then u can start telling them bout the social implications like  - there is no war for electricity, there is no pollution, u r not sending money out of your country then they realize that this is a life changing vehicle.
With all the troubles we have in the world - How the banks and large corporations (OIL) are hoarding money.
All of us give them the money.
Electric car owners stop giving them the money.  The electric car owners pays a little bit to the utilities and they spend the money on things they want to buy and thus vitalizing our local economy.

Instead of sending 150 Billion $ on imported oil each year we keep the money here and keep our wealth in India.

When production ramps up in the future, when we have multiple companies launching electric cars - am sure the electric car will be on everyone's thoughts! 

For now, am happy to be part of this revolution.

What a wonderful world :)

UPDATE - 08/23/2013  (Self Aware EVA)
I keep learning cool things bout EVA.

Scenario 1
        I went to get some groceries and got back home.  I parked EVA in my parking lot, i lock her and head to the elevator.  As i was waiting for the elevator to come down.  I get an SMS from Mahindra... It was EVA! 

The message read as follows
23rd August 2013 - 20:05 hrs.  Did you forget to pull the hand brake? Always pull up the hand brake before you exit the car.
Scenario 2
        The other day i went down at 11:45 PM to charge EVA as she was low on juice. I instructed the watch man who stays awake all night, to switch the plug off after 3 AM.  As i knew EVA would have got fully charged by then and its no good keepin the current flowing.   The watchman did as instructed and switches off the power.
I wake up at 7AM and see this Text message in my inbox... It was from EVA!
The message read as follows
21rd August 2013 - 03:05 hrs.  The car is fully charged and the power was turned off.  But the charge plug is still plugged into the socket.  Do unplug the charging cable from the car's socket.

Scenario 3
        I got back from work and I parked EVA in my parking lot and head to the elevator.  As i was waiting for the elevator to come down.  I get an SMS from Mahindra... It was EVA again! 

The message read as follows
22rd August 2013 - 19:35 hrs.  Did you forget to lock your car? No worries - Use your mobile phone to lock the car.

This kind of self awareness and prompt communication is unheard off in any Indian car. 
EVA is truly self aware and is clever.  Every user mistake or an anomaly detected in the car is recorded and sent to the Mahindra servers and the back-end system automatically updates the user on issues.  
Now this is COOL :)

UPDATE - 08/27/2013 (Range testing)
Yesterday, just for fun, i just drove in a super inefficient manner - like stepping on the accelerator pedal for fun, slamming the brakes etc.
This was while driving from home to work (distance of around 10km) and my starting range left was 45km and when i reached office - it was 32km.  There was no AC on.  So due to my inefficient driving it used up 13 km worth of range.

Today, i went gentle on the pedal and ensure there was gradual acceleration. When i started the range left was 85 km and by the time i got to my workplace back it was 77km  (it used up 8 km worth of range)

So efficient driving and being calm bout situations will help you get better range. It does not mean i went at a slow speed of 30kmph.  
Its far from the truth.  There were sections where i was on a constant 60kmph.  Its all bout the force u exert on the pedal.

The more force exerted on the pedal, the more electrons are forced to swim through the elctrolyte from the Anode to the Cathode giving u more power but less range.

The driver is often the number one cause of reduced electric car range. 
It comes down to stress, poor driving habits, or lack of concentration. Given yourself 10 extra minutes to make the trip, you’ll find you’re calmer and much less stressed behind the wheel. A calmer driver is a more attentive driver, making it easier to maximize your car’s energy saving regenerative braking and make smart choices when it comes to reading traffic flow. 

Why speed up to every red light, slam on the brakes, and speed away again to the next light?

UPDATE - 08/31/2013 (EVA goes Out of the City)
Who says E2O is a city car!  We just went to the mountains near Pune and drove around 110kms without charging anywhere midway.   We still had 8kms worth of energy when we got back! Which OIL based car can cover a distance of 110km and get it done by using 92km worth of energy? Watch to find out how!

                                                  Video Blog - Pune to Lavasa on the e2o
We could cover 110km due to the magic of regenerative braking. In a battery-powered electric vehicle, regenerative braking (also called regen) is the conversion of the vehicle’s kinetic energy into chemical energy stored in the battery. It is regenerative because the energy is recaptured in the battery where it can be used again.
We kid you not!  At the top of the Lavasa hill we had around 40kms range left and when we reached the bottom, we gained 10kms worth of energy which ensured that we had 50km worth of energy left.  It gave us a lot of peace of mind as we did not find a 15Amp socket to charge EVA.
While going back, we had around 25kms left, at the Lavasa gate but we still had to cover 45km and the magic of regenerative braking ensured we got back home with 8km worth of
energy left :)


UPDATE - 06/09/2013 (Teeny Weeny nuggets of information!)
Some updates on how the car feels after using it for a while and some aspects that will delight you and some which might annoy you :)

• Lots of experienced ICE based car drivers were surprised by the instant torque and power available from the 0 kmph.   They did not expect an electric car to have that kind of acceleration.   That's the first thing ICE based drivers observe when they step on the pedal - the instant acceleration.  So you will never be left behind on traffic lights.
• The brakes takes time getting used to.  One friend who drives an ICE based car, applied pressure on the brakes just like he would normally do on his car and the car almost stopped!  Luckily we did not get rear ended.
  The  brakes have an unpredictable and sudden bite to them.  But i got used to it in one day. It did not cause a problem for me.
• Lots of friends admired the ride quality.   Its absolutely satisfactory.  You don't feel small potholes etc.  The Macpherson strut suspension system is used in most sedans and is used here, so the ride quality is good.
• Power steering - Now i was apprehensive bout the lack of it.   And i dont feel the need to have it on the e2o while driving or while even making turns.  I only feel it when i park the car in my garage.  Thatz when, i need too do lots of revolutions and it can be frustrating. But its no big deal, although it would have been a plus.
• Dent Proof & Scratch proof panels - I had a bike guy scraping his bike on the side and i noticed no scratch.  This is a plus in crowded Indian cities, where u encounter absolute chaos and bumper to bumper situations.
• Silence - Is just wow!  When u turn off the AC and step on the pedal, It feels like you are in a Limo.  Its that silent with no vibrations, especially when the road is of good quality :).
  No Indian ICE based cars can give u that kind of silence.
• The range estimation is spot on especially when u don't use the AC.  No bugs or issues so far.  But it remains to be seen if the range estimation by the BMS in the e2o's battery pack will still be accurate after say a year's usage.  For now, Mahindra's got it right.
• Regenerative Braking - What a feature.  Mahindra Reva has nailed this and it works brilliantly, as the video blog illustrates. Even in the city if my trip is about 12 kms, due to the start and stop nature of the journey, i see sometimes the E2O has just consumed around 9km worth of energy. This indicates that whenever i brake or take the foot off the accelerator pedal, the motor becomes a generator and the the vehicle's kinetic energy is converted to electricity which flows back into the battery pack.
  I luv the science behind it and i luv how electric cars use this feature to make sure that each drive takes only the amount of energy needed and nothing more, nothing less.
• Energy Consumption - Energy is not consumed when we stop in a traffic signal or when i brake or take the foot off the accelerator pedal.   Energy is only consumed when i step on the pedal.  The sheer frugality on the energy consumption for each drive, really makes you sit up and notice!  Which ICE based car can give you such energy saving features?
• My friend made an interesting observation. This is what he said -
  "there were few kacha roads in our drive to Lavasa - an electric car has a definite edge as i am not losing more charge when driving in such roads especially when we brake and stop and start. Where as a gas car will just hog fuel as we need to run on lower gears".  Now am not a geared driving/ICE car expert. If anyone wants to contradict, please feel free to message.
• No need to start engine to start AC.  Well, there is no engine here :)
• If you commute takes you to a highway then you will have to note that in "Forward" (F) mode, once you cross 60 km/h, progress gets slower and throttle response is fairly dead.  Then you switch to 'Boost' mode and you can easily get to 85kmph.  Be warned - That eats up charge.  I never use 'Boost' mode.  Never felt the need to.  I always drive in 'F' mode.
• Hills are not a problem.  And we have lots of hills here in Pune.  I tackle them in 'F' mode and e2o's instant torque plays a big factor.
• Performance is virtually the same if it's at 100% charge or 25% charge.  No need to panic if the charge goes down.
• When it comes to charging - i see that the battery pack's state of charge goes from 20% to 100% in around 4 hours.  Also when u charge there is a light whine of a fan.  Most probably cooling the battery pack.  Its recommended to let the car cool down for an hour or so and then charge.  For example, i come from work at 7 pm. I get back to the parking lot at 10 pm and start the charging process.  This is important as the Lithium-Ion chemistry does not like heat.  Heat builds up during discharge (when u drive) and heat builds up when u charge the pack.
  So its a good practice to enhance the life of a battery pack.
• Overall the best vehicle for a city drive.

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Please find more updates on this BLOG in my other website - www.pluginindia.com
http://www.pluginindia.com/1/post/2013/09/why-i-got-the-mahindra-e2o.html

I will be posting all my updates only at www.pluginindia.com
So please bookmark the link!