[Akash5653]

Dear bhpians,

I need your advice regarding buying an electric vehicle for my rental fleet. I have never been interested in ev vehicles, however they are the future whether we like it or not. I'm planning on purchasing two ev's and I need some recommendations immediately (within this week).

I need your expert advice regarding which vehicle would suit the rental purpose more aptly. I don't need big cars like the byd emax which was launched recently.

My top priorities would be good service, range close to what the company has claimed. I also have no idea about what these vehicles would go for after I've used them for like 1,00,000 kms or 4 years. Thanks in advance!

Mods: please merge this thread into the what car? forum as I'm unable to do so.

[Dhillon]

Go for Tata Tigor EV. In Delhi/NCR, there is cab company called BluSmart. They have this model in their fleet and I have used their service a lot of times. All of the drivers have said that it can easily cover more than 120 KMs in a single charge (AC on and in peak city traffic).

[pram_ind]

Originally Posted by Akash5653

Dear bhpians,

I need your advice regarding buying an electric vehicle for my rental fleet. I have never been interested in ev vehicles, however they are the future whether we like it or not. I'm planning on purchasing two ev's and I need some recommendations immediately (within this week).

I need your expert advice regarding which vehicle would suit the rental purpose more aptly. I don't need big cars like the byd emax which was launched recently.

My top priorities would be good service, range close to what the company has claimed. I also have no idea about what these vehicles would go for after I've used them for like 1,00,000 kms or 4 years. Thanks in advance!

Mods: please merge this thread into the what car? forum as I'm unable to do so.

You can check for Citroen EC3. Has all the good things which a fleet EV needs:

1. Has a SUV stance
2. Good amount of space for passengers.
3. Has a decent range.
4. LFP battery which is reliable and safe.

[fordday]

I agree with Tata Tigor known as Xpress T EV.

There are so many in Bangalore, may be around 10% of the total taxis here. It seems to have attained that critical mass where taxi drivers or fleet owners does not have have any more doubts about its capability.

[antz.bin]

My follow up question on this would be what kind of fleet are you running?

Tata XPress T (Tigor EV) is the most famous amongst people running intra city cabs for corporate pickup drops.

BYD E6 (5 seater with huge boot) was also popular for fleet operators who ran inter-city airport pickup/drop vehicles. The E6 is now replaced by the EMax 7 which is priced similarly (7 seater) with bigger battery and faster charging.

MG Windsor for the past couple of months has been the top of the pile in terms of EV sales. For <half the price of EMax7, it could be a great pick for Airport pickup/drop usage given its generous dimensions and huge boot. Base variant is priced not too far from the base Long Range Punch.EV with everything better.

GoGreen Cabs have even picked up Curvv.EVs for regular intra city cab purposes. Huge boot is the plus here as well.

So what you pick depends on what is your usage.

I feel EVs are best put to use on Airport pickup/drop routes since most airports have DC charging infra nearby AND the presence of a boot helps with the luggage situation that CNG cabs cannot manage.

[Akash5653]

Originally Posted by Dhillon

Go for Tata Tigor EV. In Delhi/NCR, there is cab company called BluSmart. They have this model in their fleet and I have used their service a lot of times. All of the drivers have said that it can easily cover more than 120 KMs in a single charge (AC on and in peak city traffic).

Thank you for all your replies guys, unfortunately, I'm not interested in tata tigor or Tiago ev. The only tatas in my consideration are punch or Nexon, of which I'm unsure of the reliability.

Originally Posted by pram_ind

You can check for Citroen EC3. Has all the good things which a fleet EV needs:

1. Has a SUV stance
2. Good amount of space for passengers.
3. Has a decent range.
4. LFP battery which is reliable and safe.

This is one of the top considerations, it would be helpful if you guys can tell me the models which would give me the company claimed range.

Originally Posted by fordday

I agree with Tata Tigor known as Xpress T EV.

There are so many in Bangalore, may be around 10% of the total taxis here. It seems to have attained that critical mass where taxi drivers or fleet owners does not have have any more doubts about its capability.

Thanks for the reply, this car would be used for premium rentals. Also reliability of the tatas are known and our own forum contains lot of horror stories.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

My follow up question on this would be what kind of fleet are you running?

Tata XPress T (Tigor EV) is the most famous amongst people running intra city cabs for corporate pickup drops.

BYD E6 (5 seater with huge boot) was also popular for fleet operators who ran inter-city airport pickup/drop vehicles. The E6 is now replaced by the EMax 7 which is priced similarly (7 seater) with bigger battery and faster charging.

MG Windsor for the past couple of months has been the top of the pile in terms of EV sales. For <half the price of EMax7, it could be a great pick for Airport pickup/drop usage given its generous dimensions and huge boot. Base variant is priced not too far from the base Long Range Punch.EV with everything better.

GoGreen Cabs have even picked up Curvv.EVs for regular intra city cab purposes. Huge boot is the plus here as well.

So what you pick depends on what is your usage.

I feel EVs are best put to use on Airport pickup/drop routes since most airports have DC charging infra nearby AND the presence of a boot helps with the luggage situation that CNG cabs cannot manage.

This would mainly be used for inter City and airport drops and pickup. Mg Windsor, citreon ec3 and I'm even considering one byd emax to some extend instead of two small cars.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by Akash5653

Thanks for the reply, this car would be used for premium rentals. Also reliability of the tatas are known and our own forum contains lot of horror stories.



This would mainly be used for inter City and airport drops and pickup. Mg Windsor, citreon ec3 and I'm even considering one byd emax to some extend instead of two small cars.

You need to decide whether you want emax or 2 smaller cars. Of the ones you mentioned, Citreon C3 has enough body of evidence now including taxis. I would reserve my judgement on Windsor till I see more cab-like (extensive) use. BYD cars are brilliant but expensive - your call on whether you can deploy them commercially.

Tata reliability is probably less of a lottery these days - I have had 18 months reasonably issue-free with a Tiago EV. Between Punch and Nexon, my vote would again go to Nexon for a larger body of evidence including some cabs I know.

BTW if you want "premium rentals" then not sure if any of the above except BYDs can be classified as premium.

Hope this helps.

[pram_ind]

Originally Posted by Akash5653

This is one of the top considerations, it would be helpful if you guys can tell me the models which would give me the company claimed range.

Blusmart operates EC3's. Maybe you can hire and get more details from drivers.
I have traveled the EC3's to airport, and the drivers seem to be pretty happy with it. Per them it has 220-250 kms of range.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by Akash5653

This is one of the top considerations, it would be helpful if you guys can tell me the models which would give me the company claimed range.

BYDs will be closest to the company claimed range, followed by MGs.

Tata has gone too much overboard with their range predictions.

Here is someone who has done highway range tests at 100kmph a while back. Might be helpful.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5702700 (Share your real-world Electric Car range here)

Originally Posted by Akash5653

This would mainly be used for inter City and airport drops and pickup. Mg Windsor, citreon ec3 and I'm even considering one byd emax to some extend instead of two small cars.

For Premium cabs, preference should be eMax7 > Windsor > eC3

eC3 has the smallest battery and will be the slowest charging one of them all, assuming you will be using DC charging to reduce downtime. Charging speed is important in inter-city use case as well, none wants to wait around while the car charges. And consider the DC charging speed in kmph (km of range added per hour) not time taken for 0-80% or 10-80% or even kW. A more efficient born EV may end up going further in the same amount of energy so km added per hour even at the same (kw) charging speed may be better.

I would keep it as eMax7 > Curvv.EV > Windsor if it is premium cab experience that you are offering.

MG EVs in general (Comet and ZS) have been plenty reliable and have had lesser documented issues compared to Tatas but as far as India is concerned, BYD is gold standard.

[m8002?]

Having seen the BluSmart fleet, I would suggest the following
1. Premium --> eMax7 and MG ZS
2. Utility -->eC3 and Tigor

Windsor is very much targeted at the personal user. I havent seen much of Punch/Nexon EVs as cabs.

[Aroy]

It all depends on what your final fleet size will be as well as the size of the vehicle the user wants. Blue smart in Delhi has two sizes Tata for normal customers (2-4 passengers) and larger SUV type for premium customers.

If you plan to have a large fleet ultimately (50+) then it would be best to have the same model. At the same time explore the service facilities of the manufacturer. Unlike private owners, a fleet cab has to have the maximum availability, so better and premium service is cost effective.

At the same time investigate the battery life and replacement costs. A cheaper initial cost may not be a lest life time cost solution. It would be best if the battery warranty includes fast repairs/replacement.

[Sudarshan42]

I would opt for the ones that have the highest range figures for the lowest price. For that, you may need to look at the base Creative variant of the Nexon 45kWh option. It will be a bit more than the Tiago/Tigor models, but will provide you a bit more flexibility with scheduling.

I feel this is important since downtime for EVs are quite high due to charging times.

Alternatively, you could look at the MG Windsor with their BaaS option to reduce up-front costs. There was a very detailed look into this on the official Team BHP MG Windosr thread, you can read that in detail for all angles.

If you're looking at premium, then the BYD E7 is a no brainer. Have travelled in the E6 and it was supremely comfortable.

[ajmat]

If you are able to ensure the cab is utilised go for the maximum range. This ensures proper utilisation. A BYD6 can be used over nearly 2 shifts. Ensure you have access to a charger. The Shell charger on my way to work is constantly utilised by taxi's so a lot of downtime is wasted in waiting.

[aashishnb]

Isn't the BYD E6 still available?

Would be perfect for commercial fleet use with its 5 lakh km battery warranty, massive legroom & bootspace & no frills.

[akshaymahajan]

Focus on range and charging time - how many fast charges can be done back to back. Also not all EVs are available for commercial registration from what I know.