[dZired]

Mahindra Electric has launched the eSupro van in two versions - Cargo and Passenger. The eSupro Cargo Van is priced at Rs. 8.45 lakh, while the Passenger Van variant costs Rs. 8.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). These prices include subsidy deductions under the government's FAME initiative.

Mahindra had previously showcased the eSupro at the 2016 Auto Expo. It is powered by an electric motor that drives power from a 72V lithium-ion battery pack. Power is sent to the wheels through a single-speed gearbox. The powertrain generates 33.5 BHP and 90 Nm of torque. It has a range of 112 km and can achieve a top speed of 60 km/h. The eSupro takes 8 hours 45 minutes to get a 0-100 % charge.

Similar to the system found on the e2o, the eSupro also gets a Boost mode that provides added power to climb inclines or tackle tricky overtaking manoeuvres. It also gets a Revive R feature that squeezes out reserve power from the battery and lets the owner drive for 7 kilometers, even when the indicated charge level is 0%.

The eSupro even gets regenerative braking, that essentially uses the energy lost in braking to recharge the battery pack. It also features an analog-digital instrument cluster that shows information about Status of Charge (Battery), Distance to Empty (DTE), Speed, Gear Engaged, Total Running and efficiency.

Link to Team-BHP News

[libranof1987]

Good steps but let's take a reality check:

1) Who will buy this and why?
- With a range of 112km range (wonder under what load rating this has been calculated), clearly, it needs to be charged every day. With 9 hours needed for a full charge, it limits the on-road time. People would rather have their UV on road earning them money than at home being charged
- Source of electricity: most urban towns (except maybe Mumbai) still face significant power cuts, neither is electricity exactly cheap. To top it, parking and logistics for the typical owner of such a van will be an issue for the 9 hours that it is being charged

2) Does the segment care about owning a e-van to make a difference to the environment? I'm confident, they don't

I have barely seen any EVs in the commercial segment even in the US (except golf carts and such); wonder how it will pick up in India.

National parks, golf courses and airports seem like the best bet for this venture.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

...
1) Who will buy this and why?
....
National parks, golf courses and airports seem like the best bet for this venture.

School-vans may be. They typically are on trips 3-4 times a day. Relatively short trips and decent amount of time between trips.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

...
- With a range of 112km range ....

CNG taxies with 9Kg cylinders would have similar range. So as long as its cost-effective, people would consider.
You got a valid point though. CNG can be refilled in 30 minutes (even after considering long queues) and you are back on the road again. 9 hrs charging would be too much.

[pkulkarni.2106]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

- Source of electricity: most urban towns (except maybe Mumbai) still face significant power cuts, neither is electricity exactly cheap. To top it, parking and logistics for the typical owner of such a van will be an issue for the 9 hours that it is being charged

Yeah. Moreover, the owners/drivers usually park their vehicles on the roadside (Just because they don't have their own parking/garage). If one were to opt for e-version of the vehicle, they must park it close to home (rather in their own garage) and arrange for a charging point. Which seems next to impossible for cities like Mumbai/Delhi/Pune or any major city.

[sreeharipv]

Too late, too little. I hope they are being conservative with the 112 km range. Otherwise its just a non starter. A commercial vehicle which can only run a 100 km round trip a day? No thanks!

I can see a niche market for this right now though. Those delivery vans that goes to major IT parks and are parked for most of the day while they deliver hundreds of packages in just one campus. But the price difference with the conventional diesel one will have to be minimal for even that to work.

I think Government should mandate certain applications to use evs only to kickstart the whole thing.

[centaur]

If this will reduce the logistics charges I am sure people will be interested. The vehicles can be easily charged when being loaded/unloaded for whatever time possible and not necessarily the entire 9 hours. Adding to this, it also has regenerative braking which, even though not extremely helpful, will surely help to some extent with the Revive R feature.

This would predominantly be a city vehicle and School Vans as mentioned by SDP is a very good use for this. Apart from it, postal vans/ecommerce delivery vans, small shuttle services at say large apartment complexes/restaurants, wide spread resorts are other places where it will find buyers IMHO

[silverado]

However green this vehicle is, there is a massive difference in on road cost of diesel and e-variant (even after subsidy).

What was Mahindra thinking here? Are they going to lease out these vehicles?

Does it have AC? i believe the regular Supro top end has AC.

While Supro is a promising van, it has not become as popular as OMNI.
It is economical to run, has AC and should also ride better than OMNI - talking of passenger variant only.

The only place i think this is heading, is exports.

[babu.sundaram]

Mahindra should consider a solar charging panel at least as optional accessory. With most commercial vehicles only on roadside and we blessed with a never ending summer, CV owner should get some benefit!

Regardless, staff pick ups, school vans, (courier) delivery vehicles, inter office shuttles, intra campus shuttle duties, etc should take this up. May be even canteen delivery,etc where start/stop wait times very high, but dont think such a model needs this expensive vehicle (a run down omni can do the job at fraction of cost).