[TusharK]

According to a media report, Mahindra has discontinued the production of the e2o Plus for the domestic market. The last car was built on March 31, 2019. The company has reportedly stopped sales of the electric hatchback in India due to slow sales and the new safety regulations.



Reports also suggest that the e2o Plus will be sold in select international markets like Nepal and Sri Lanka. The e2o was offered in the UK, but dwindling sales had forced the company to discontinue the model.

The four-door e2o Plus was the replacement for the e2o. It was available in three variants with the driving range varying between 110 km and 140 km. It was powered by an AC induction motor with an output of 25 BHP @ 3,500 rpm and 70 Nm of torque @ 1,050 rpm and was paired with a 2-speed direct drive transmission. It came with a 11 kWh or a 15 kWh battery pack.

In India, the e2o Plus is likely to be replaced by the all-electric KUV100. It is expected to compete with upcoming electric vehicles (EVs) based on the Renault Kwid and Maruti WagonR.

Source: Business Standard

Link to Team-BHP News

[i74js]

Sub-standard products cannot pull it through even in developing countries like India. Not more then 10-15% of buyers were actually satisfied with the product.

- Not every M & M service center was geared up for EVs
- Niggles in electronics continued to exist even after the last update
- The actual range was comparatively lower compared to official claims
- Step motherly treatment by both manufacturer as well as dealer towards the car (first hand experience at Delhi dealership near Bikaji Kama)

[kiku007]

Another year, and another one of Mahindra's adopted product is dead. Words like "slow sales" and "dwindling sales" are really kind.

[hemanth.anand]

It was time before this eventuality happened. A product not made very well but surviving so long only because of lack of competition. With competition arriving, Mahindra knew that it can't survive and chose to close it. In a way a better move I'd say. Having owned (more or less) the E2O plus, I just hope the eKUV100 will be a much better product.

The immediate question I got was What'll happen to the E2O factory in Bangalore?
I guess it'll continue to assemble E2Os for markets where it'll continue to sell and manufacture service parts for the domestic market. Possibly it'll also be the Engine Plant (Powertrain plant rather) for future EVs from Mahindra.

[speedmiester]

Not surprised to hear the news.
The amount of complaints by existing E2O and E2O plus owners are increasing day by day. After 5 years in the market, the battery capacity is half of what it was promised.
Parts are delayed indefinitely and this is in Bangalore where it is manufactured.

Glad that I got rid of it when I had the chance.
Happy to get an EV anytime, but I would wait for a proper EV than a half baked product like E2O or E2O plus.

[SmartCat]

For EV cars to be successful in India:

- Price should not be more than 20% over competing petrol model
- Should have a range of atleast 250 to 300 km range and 1 hour charge time (for highway drives)
- At this competitive price (20% over petrol model), it should be profitable for car companies to sell at that price point. Else, they won't be able to sell in lakhs. Right now, all EV car companies are dependent on "investors" for running operations.

There is no "OR" in the above 3 criteria. For EV cars to be successful in India, all 3 technical / financial requirements need to be met.

[paragsachania]

Apparently, even Govt. Officials were not happy to use electric cars and one of the main reason cited is exactly what SmartCat mentions - Range!!

Govt officials refuse to use electric cars made by Mahindra, Tata Motors

Electric cars of Tata Motors and Mahindra the Tata Tigor electric and Mahindra e-Verito, respectively procured by EESL for government officials failed to run even 80-82km on a single charge within city limits

Taking into consideration the shortcomings of E-Verito, Mahindra is developing a new electric vehicle that gives more mileage, said the second of the three people mentioned above, requesting anonymity.

In short, when it comes to usage of electric vehicles, especially cars, Range and Infrastructure (to charge) will be the 2 most primary aspects to succeed. Later comes the cost factor to own and maintain (battery).

[sreeharipv]

Its time 250 km electric cars are here. 250 km will enable what I guess 75% of the population to meet 99% of their needs. There's a big percentage of population who won't need any infrastructure other than a 220 V socket in the garage. When you consider the savings, a 30% dearer Wagon R will still have enough demand to gobble up the initial limited supply.

[aargee]

Mahindra is pulling off the plug, while I'm reminded of this news. How in 5 years & 15% are they going to achieve?

[anjan_c2007]

The E2O death warrant was not unexpected. The price was too high for a car of its size and specs. The average buyer will expect a better deal and rarely will one find a buyer who buys such a car to committedly save the environment. The car offers nothing else other than electric mobility. Its small, unsafe and insecure (in case of accidents), costly , has a poor range and demands a recharge of 3-4 hours for every 110-140 kms of use.

It is too early to comment about Mahindra's move to keep the car's production afloat for foreign markets. Can only hope against hope that foreigners will opt for such a 25 bhp car with a range of 110-140 kms at cost of US $ 10,000/-.

Lots of brouhaha was generated in Nagpur city since early 2017 about a massive infusion of a hundred or more of electric Ola taxis. As you can visualise, the media went gaga thinking something great is happening and that the country will save lots of fossil fuels and also purify the environment.

A link to a national newspaper:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...oDTHQrzaM.html

The E2O's numbering 200 were inducted in the city's taxi fleet by cab aggregator Ola ! Ultimately it was not the e-Verito but the E2O that came along. Soon, many of these were sighted on the city roads doing their duties.

Then came the publicity after a year saying that these have collectively covered 225,000 kms, have saved 272500 kg of carbon dioxide emissions and have got 13625 trees planted.

The very optimistic news link:

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/mahindra-...e-year-1842105

And from the flip side came the pessimistic news at around the same time last year saying that the E2O excercise has flopped.

A link to the newsitem describing the recipe of the flop show:

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...vehicles-77782

Excerpts from the above quoted link :

Ola launched its electric vehicle project in Nagpur last year with an investment of $8 million. However, Reuters reports that nine months into the pilot, the program is facing a major roadblock with Ola drivers wanting to return their electric cars and switch back to petrol or diesel variants. Reuters spoke to 20 Ola electric car drivers and reportedly more than a dozen of them have either returned their vehicles already, or are planning to return them.

The reason? High operating expenses and long wait times at charging stations.

After Ola announced that it would build 50 charging points for its fleet of 200 electric vehicles across four locations in Nagpur, it has reportedly built less than 30 stations so far. It has been facing hurdles even with the existing ones. For instance, Ola had to shut one charging station after residents protested saying drivers coming to charge their vehicles was causing traffic jams.

“It took more than five months to get government clearances to begin operating another station,” the Reuters report states.

And with the cars having a limited range of about 100 kilometers and with there being only a few charging stations, drivers need to charge their cars often, which means long queues to recharge. And the batteries drain faster in the summer, which will worsen the situation for drivers in the coming months.

In addition, the Ola project has not turned out to be economically viable for either the company or its drivers.

Backed by Softbank, Ola has tied up with Mahindra for its pilot project, where the cars would come from Mahindra.

However, Mahindra is the only electric car maker in India currently and its entry-level model costs over Rs 7 lakh. This, Reuters says, is a barrier for taxi drivers, who can otherwise get a diesel of petrol vehicle for half the price.

The electric cars in this project are owned by Ola and leased to drivers for Rs 1000 a day. However, drivers say that this is very high and given that they spend at least 3-4 hours a day at charging stations, they end up having to work 12-16 hours a day to make a decent living.

In addition, they have to shell about Rs 500-600 a day for charging.

Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal told Reuters last April that the company would pilot a few thousand electric vehicles in several Indian cities in 2017, before scaling up majorly. However, it has not launched the pilot anywhere else.

And if Ola is facing trouble in just one city, for only 200 vehicles, this, Reuters says, exposes the challenges the Indian government and automakers will face if they are to get anywhere near realising the 2030 vision.

At this point of time very few E2O's are left from the BATCH OF 2017. These drivers must be real heroes fighting against all odds.

If we bite more than we can chew, failures are bound to occur. The "foot in mouth" disease that afflicts our policy makers shows no signs of any respite. There is no use of forcing an idea whose time has not come.

Like when the fossil fuel powered cars came, the then policy makers did not shoo away the older horse drawn carriages into obscurity overnight. The change was gradual and ultimately with all the roads (no roads in many cases) and the requisite infrastructure, the changeover happened over a few decades.

[SamitMukherjee]

It is sad to know that country's first electric car E2O erstwhile Reva has been discontinued. This move was not unexpected owing to the high cost of the car, low sales figures and lesser numbers of charging stations. At a time, when the world is moving towards electric cars, our government should work to help manufacturers launch world class electric vehicles at lower prices.
Although, I am not a fan of electric cars, but owing to present circumstances we will have to accept the change.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by sreeharipv

Its time 250 km electric cars are here. 250 km will enable what I guess 75% of the population to meet 99% of their needs.

+1.

IMHO, I feel that the manufacturers are facing supply/resource constraints, but passing the buck,terming "lack of appropriate infrastructure" to ensure their current products could have a slightly longer run or they probably do not want to take the risk of investing in a majorly urban-centric product.

The bare essential needed to charge an EV is a 220V 16AMP socket, which using India's famous jugaad mechanism can easily be done for the parked vehicles ( excluding those parked on the road :P ). I myself have the plan laid out as to how I'll route the wiring and meter for my parking for my next upgrade, which is going to be an EV for sure.

Word of mouth is the best marketing tactic! Once news spreads about 200Km vehicles are practical for general purposes, they'll sell much better than the manufacturer's estimates.

Eg :

1. E-Rickshaws had very poor initial adoption. However, as the word spread out regarding their feasibility, they are practically now everywhere!
All the cycle-rickshaws in my hometown village got instantly converted to these, and the drivers are really happy with them.

2. Tesla!

[GTO]

Having driven the E2O Plus, I feel a bit sad to see that it's RIP. The Plus was a marked improvement & a lot more practical than the regular E2O. However, if anyone were to ask me if I'd buy the E2O / Plus, I'd say "over my dead body".

There is no way anyone was buying an E2O at that price, not even the greenest of tree huggers. As a product too, it had many flaws (top speed restricted, small battery range, fit & finish) and certainly couldn't be your only car. No EV will be successful if it has compromises. The only successful EVs are those that are equal to or better than regular cars (e.g. Tesla Model 3 & S).

Mahindra has done absolutely nothing with its first-mover advantage among EVs. In all likelihood, it's going to be Maruti, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai or someone else who is going to truly make EVs popular.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

It was time before this eventuality happened.

Sharing your awesome ownership thread for those who want to know what it is like to live with - link.

[TejasKinger]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

It was time before this eventuality happened. A product not made very well but surviving so long only because of lack of competition. With competition arriving, Mahindra knew that it can't survive and chose to close it. In a way a better move I'd say. Having owned (more or less) the E2O plus, I just hope the eKUV100 will be a much better product.

Autocar India has published its first drive review of the eKUV100. You can find it here.

Given that it is a WIP version, the initial impressions seem positive, however, the crucial problem of range doesn't seem to have been addressed.

[cool_dube]

For all its flaws and consequent brickbats it has been getting, I'd still say that the e2o (and of course the e2o-plus) was a step in the right direction by ME, notwithstanding the fact that it clearly lost very badly at capitalizing on its early mover advantage. Being a current owner of a 2016 e2o, I still love it for the following reason:

• Very convenient to drive in the crazy Bangalore traffic given the size and maneuverability
• Immensely easy to park
• Running cost of less than a Re. per km (I have calculated it and can vouch for it)
• Gives me immense satisfaction that I am doing my bit towards curbing vehicular pollution

I am sad to see the plug being pulled on it but given the almost non-existent safety features, this was inevitable. It qualifies at best as a second or third car in a household, what with its limited size and range.

All that said, do I sill love my e2o? Of course, I do and I intend to keep it till the battery gives up on me.