[Chhanda Das]

A Bangladesh-based startup Palki Motors is planning to launch its very own locally assembled electric vehicle at a starting price of Tk 4.99 lakh which is approximately equal to INR 3.98 lakh. According to Mustafa Al Momin, Co-founder & CEO of Palki Motors, 40% of the parts are made in Bangladesh while the rest of them are imported from China and Taiwan for local assembly.

Palki comes with a 60V 100Ah lead acid battery which offers a driving range of up to 150 kilometres on a single charge. To fully charge its battery array, it takes around 6-8 hours. The service life of the lead acid battery is expected to be around 36,000+ kilometres. Meaning, with the charging of the battery, it will cost around Tk. 1.73 per kilometre, claimed Momin. As the output of the motor of the electric vehicle is relatively low and the high speed of the vehicle is under 60 km/h, regulations are relatively lax. Here are all the specifications :-

News sources :

1) https://www.thedailystar.net/tech-st...ts-way-3103341

2) https://palkimotors.com/en/palki-electric-car/

[Dry Ice]

Ah, one of those mini electrics from China. It looks like a regular off the shelf import. They haven’t even bothered to change the stickers. The spec sheet even has the photo from the ad (note the missing Palki badge on the door).

I found these pictures from Alibaba listings like this, and this. There are several listings for a car like this with varying stickers/colors etc.

I doubt this shortcut will help their domestic car industry in any way.

[Chhanda Das]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

I doubt this shortcut will help their domestic car industry in any way.

That is undoubtedly very true but at least they will have the access to cheap electric cars unlike here in India where the cheapest electric car from a domestic car manufacturer which is the Tiago EV starts at approximately INR 8.5L with a lot of components still being imported from China. As a result of the cheaper entry point, more people will be able to jump on the electric bandwagon in Bangladesh which will only increase the local production percentage rate there from the current 40%. A country has to start somewhere. Also, a completely local car manufacturing industry may not always be beneficial from a purely business point of view due to increased production costs, weird laws, logistical issues, etc. For example, it would not be profitable to grow coffee in Rajasthan, would it ?

The problem is that our governments are creating artificial blockades (like import restrictions, Aliexpress/Alibaba ban, exorbitant taxes, 10-15 year rule, etc) for us ordinary citizens to prevent us from accessing cheap cars and/or their parts while ensuring the flow of money to the rich who in turn keep the election machinery running. As per news reports from the World Bank, Indians account for 80% of those who became poor globally in 2020 due to covid-19 while at the same time we see the rise and expansion of large corporate giants. I am sorry for that rant

[DicKy]

Looking at this contraption.

Mahindra, Why are you not launching the ATOM !!!

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

. A country has to start somewhere. Also, a completely local car manufacturing industry may not always be beneficial from a purely business point of view due to increased production costs, weird laws, logistical issues, etc. For example, it would not be profitable to grow coffee in Rajasthan, would it ?

Just a look at the two wheeler BEV scene and you will get the answer.

Add to that, the trading mentality of Indian businesses would mean the market would be flooded with Chinese knock offs and sticker jobs. Ones that do the hard work like Ather would be relegated to the corner.

We are on the path. TATA has made BEVs acceptable among in the mainstream markets, though I feel they are not doing enough to localise the battery and motor paraphernalia. Mahindra, Maruti and Toyota are IMO laying a better ground for more localised production.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Looking at this contraption.
Ones that do the hard work like Ather would be relegated to the corner.
We are on the path. TATA has made BEVs acceptable among in the mainstream markets, though I feel they are not doing enough to localise the battery and motor paraphernalia. Mahindra, Maruti and Toyota are IMO laying a better ground for more localised production.

I agree. I have a lot of respect for Ather and they inspire trust. But I have somehow no respect for and trust in Ola.

The main components like chips and batteries require to be localised if we are to reach anywhere in this EV revolution.

But considering everything, I am, as I have earlier said, not at all a big fan of EV. I just think we should focus on something far more sustainable such as Hydrogen Fuel Cells. We can, if we make the right efforts in investing now, completely conquer this market.

[Arsenic]

This just looks silly. In this segment, there are already lots of good Chinese options that appear like finished products, like the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV:




That being said - Wuling’s parent company, SGMW, a JV between SAIC and General Motors has a much higher R&D budget than this Bangladeshi startup, but regardless this is a very silly little toy.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by Arsenic

This just looks silly. In this segment, there are already lots of good Chinese options that appear like finished products, like the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV:

Absolutely no comparison between a Bangladeshi startup and a Chinese major. Wuling is a PROPER car manufacturer, whose monthly sales numbers in China are similar to those of Maruti in India. Its parent company SAIC is an absolute behemoth. It is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, and its monthly sales in China alone are 30-40% more than the entire Indian car market combined.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

That is undoubtedly very true but at least they will have the access to cheap electric cars unlike here in India where the cheapest electric car from a domestic car manufacturer which is the Tiago EV starts at approximately INR 8.5L with a lot of components still being imported from China.

I am personally glad that we don't have such cheap Chinese contraptions (yet) and our most accessible EV is the Tiago Electric, a car with a 4-star safety rating, certain quality standards, good suspension and backing from a 100-year old trusted conglomerate.

These cheap Chinese EVs come with a huge set of challenges in terms of quality, safety, performance & reliability. We are better off without them.

Yes, there are also very high quality Chinese EVs (e.g. ZS EV) and we will certainly see those from the likes of MG & BYD who already have a presence in India. But I certainly hope these little Chinese contraptions never make it to our roads.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

But considering everything, I am, as I have earlier said, not at all a big fan of EV. I just think we should focus on something far more sustainable such as Hydrogen Fuel Cells. We can, if we make the right efforts in investing now, completely conquer this market.

Count me in. Though for me, equally important to the technical aspect is the geopolitical impact of this blinder vision towards whole BEV future. It is not for nothing that some major countries are pushing towards a hydrogen future.

But utter the word, 'Hydrogen Fuel Cells' in some of the threads, and resident BEV fans would be quick to accuse of 'Big Oil conspiracy'

[PRATAYA]

Originally Posted by Arsenic

This just looks silly. In this segment, there are already lots of good Chinese options that appear like finished products, like the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV:

Attachment 2365863
Attachment 2365864

That being said - Wuling’s parent company, SGMW, a JV between SAIC and General Motors has a much higher R&D budget than this Bangladeshi startup, but regardless this is a very silly little toy.

All said and done i have a question is the climate vent bent only in the photos or is it same in real life . Would like to know.
On that note if its true then once again it brings up glaring quality control issues on chinese mass market products .

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Looking at this contraption.

Mahindra, Why are you not launching the ATOM !!!



Just a look at the two wheeler BEV scene and you will get the answer.

Add to that, the trading mentality of Indian businesses would mean the market would be flooded with Chinese knock offs and sticker jobs. Ones that do the hard work like Ather would be relegated to the corner.

We are on the path. TATA has made BEVs acceptable among in the mainstream markets, though I feel they are not doing enough to localise the battery and motor paraphernalia. Mahindra, Maruti and Toyota are IMO laying a better ground for more localised production.

+1

This seems more like a Quadracycle than a car (like how the G-Wiz was classified in the UK) and for what it is, it does seem quite expensive. I mean even the batteries are not lithium-ion as is the case with even the scooters and if I’m right, the electric rickshaws in India.

Also, the price is quite expensive for what it is though Bangladesh has quite high taxes which might explain.

I’m pro-free market but I really don’t support selling such Chinese contraptions in India, as GTO says, let the Chinese companies making real electric cars like SAIC, BYD and the likes compete in India (as they do in mainland Europe now). As for Bangladesh, I guess this is the best they can get at this point for the price, so this is something their regulators and customers have to figure out.

[SKC-auto]

Hope the Toyota fan boys think logically instead of blind faith on what Toyoda says.

FCEV is 3x inefficient than BEVs, 99% hydrogen produced today is gray hydrogen, green hydrogen requires all of the renewable energy installed today and many times more renewables to be installed.

If all renewables installed currently and future are diverted for only cars when will we make other sectors green. Don't know how hydrogen is more sustainable than BEV.

Hydrogen is costlier than even petrol and diesel, countries like UK have shut most of their hydrogen fuelling stations, they have only 2 operating, there are horrible stories of users stuck with their unusable Mirai, paying monthly emi's.

Show us the data(no insults please ) why FCEV can work today or in 5 years, I don't think Toyoda will give a free Mirai for all this support.

We hardly have time to avoid global climate change, there is no time to wait for 20-30 years for FCEV to catch up.

How many FCEV does the great Toyota sell today, less than 1% of BEV sales. BEV global sales estimate for 2022 is 16%, FCEV is less than 0.1% I believe, try to understand the reason.

[G V Krishna]

This is exactly what an BEV shouldn't be. I haven't gone through the entirety of this piece of whatever you want to call but when I saw the term Lead-Acid Batteries, that was the end of story for me. Forget about what happens in a crash/accident with huge Lead-Acid batteries, but in the spectrum of batteries - Lead Acid batteries are near the most unreliable & least performing when compared to Lithium ion or better batteries.

These kind of vision less, short term acrobats will hinder BEV adoption than promoting it. This is because, the practical range would be very low and doesn't match the advertised range. All this does is it would be a tool to criticize BEVs by the Naysayers and scare away the cats on the wall from buying proper EVs.

I have nothing against the manufacturer or the importer, but this is a waste of resources. Research and Industries should focus on practical vehicles like Tiago or say a WagonR that is safe and reliable.

[vennarbank]

Let us cut some slack here. This is how Reva started in India. Of course now time has changed and Lead acid is past. But atleast someone is trying new in that country. We need to appreciate it. Of course i do not want it in India. The reason is the same as Gto mentioned.

[Arsenic]

Originally Posted by PRATAYA

All said and done i have a question is the climate vent bent only in the photos or is it same in real life . Would like to know.
On that note if its true then once again it brings up glaring quality control issues on chinese mass market products .

That’s an intentional design element IIRC. The Chinese do certainly make interesting interiors…