[RahulNagaraj]

e-Revolt, a German startup is offering to convert existing petrol & diesel cars to pure electric vehicles in just 8 hours.

According to a media report, while most conversion companies target or are specialised in high-end classic cars, e-Revolt works on common vehicles. Rolf Behling, Managing Director & Technical Lead, e-Revolt, stated that the company currently offers conversion kits compatible with as many as 42 different vehicles. The conversion from ICE to EV is said to cost anywhere between $13,000 - $16,000, depending on the model.



e-Revolt claims that the battery on the EV conversion kit will offer around 250-300 km of range on a full charge. However, the company also claims that the technology is still being improved, hence, there is room for more. Also, since the conversion kit is modular, cars which have already had the transformation can upgrade to better battery packs as and when they become available.

The conversion process starts with a pre-check to confirm the car is eligible for the transformation. The IC engine and all other components which are no longer required are removed to be recycled or reused in other applications. The 'Plug & Play Frame' as e-Revolt calls it, is attached to the mount points originally created to hold the engine. The company also installs an e-CAN (Controller Area Network) which ensures the new parts being installed work in harmony with the original parts still on the car.

Apart from the electric powertrain, e-Revolt even installs a new infotainment unit on the dashboard which provides all the EV-related info.

Having said that, the battery capacity and the power output of the electric motors are unknown. Another mystery is the charging time for the batteries to reach 100%.

Source: EuroNews

Link to Team-BHP news

[bijims]

For customers, who want to retain their existing ICE cars but don't mind the $13,000 - $16,000 conversion cost, this could be a good choice, but with the range still at 250km to 300km, it still needs a whole lot of improvement, otherwise even a Model 3 costs upwards of $38,990 (excluding taxes and charges)

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

e-Revolt, a German startup is offering to convert existing petrol & diesel cars to pure electric vehicles in just 8 hours.

I wish we had good options for EV conversion in India. I saw one such start-up featured in Autocar India which converted commercial vehicles. I wonder if it is even legal in most states to do such conversion. 🤔

[Genie]

Wishing many such options are available in our country soon. I hope the government comes up with a regulation proactively where such conversions are permissible and that vehicles can be re-registered as EVs. For example, it will help scores of interested owners retain their diesel vehicles which are now restricted to a certain years of usage in some locations. Imagine letting go of a well-maintained car which could still be used for years to come. Not mentioning extending the life of all the materials making up the car. This would be a fitting example of the 3R's theme.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by Joe367

I wish we had good options for EV conversion in India. I saw one such start-up featured in Autocar India which converted commercial vehicles. I wonder if it is even legal in most states to do such conversion. 🤔

I guess you are referring to Northway Motors, which converts Tata Ace to electric, and even some ICE Nexon and Dzire cars etc.

Incidentally, it is a business of our very own BHP-ian Stuntfreak, and he can pitch in for more details regarding their RTO Approved kits etc. Their website is: www.northwaymotors.com

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

I guess you are referring to Northway Motors, which converts Tata Ace to electric, and even some ICE Nexon and Dzire cars etc.

Incidentally, it is a business of our very own BHP-ian Stuntfreak, and he can pitch in for more details regarding their RTO Approved kits etc. Their website is: www.northwaymotors.com

Yes it was! Thanks for sharing. I remember their l logo from the video on converted dzire. The logo itself was quite catchy. 😅

[Jeroen]

I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin. Seems they fit a frame with their engine onto the original engine mounting support? So how do they drive the wheels? Do they leave transmission and drive shafts in place?

Where do they put the battery? What about weight and weight distribution? Electrical cars tend to be a lot heavier than there ice counterparts. Do they change out the suspension or suspension components?

What about the formal road worthy certificate of these cars. You can't change a car engine without having it Re-inspected by the TUV? This is an ICE EV transformation, I would think that requires quite a bit of work decertifying it? Or is their kit pre-certified?

Where would you get such a contraption serviced and maintained?

I can’t really judge if there is a market for these conversion. Many people believe there is. I have seen quite a few electrical converted cars at various car exhibitions around Europe over the years. None retained its original character in my opinion and none of its vendor were able to answer all my questions.

So in an upcoming EV market this is still a very immature component in my opinion.

Jeroen

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by Joe367

I wish we had good options for EV conversion in India. I saw one such start-up featured in Autocar India which converted commercial vehicles. I wonder if it is even legal in most states to do such conversion. 🤔

Of course everything we do is 100% legal. We convert brand new / slightly used Tata Ace Vehicle with our in house manufactured Drivetrain with various battery pack options with our ARAI certified EV kits, with appropriate TCO And RTO approvals, giving them GREEN plates and BOV on RC with all accurate details making them LEGALLY RE REGISTERED electric Vehicles. You can find all details on www.northwaymotors.com

Thanks and best regards,

Hemank

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin. Seems they fit a frame with their engine onto the original engine mounting support? So how do they drive the wheels? Do they leave transmission and drive shafts in place? Where do they put the battery? What about weight and weight distribution? Electrical cars tend to be a lot heavier than there ice counterparts. Do they change out the suspension or suspension components?

Check these threads by BHPian stuntfreak - some of your technical questions might have been answered here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ctric-car.html (Swift Dzire EV - Systematic conversion to an electric car!)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...c-vehicle.html (Converted my Chevrolet Beat to an Electric Vehicle!)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...uti-800-a.html (EV Conversion of my Maruti 800)

[Mak@87]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

We convert brand new / slightly used Tata Ace Vehicle with our in house manufactured Drivetrain

Hi Hemank,
You guys are doing a great job. IMHO, this conversion kit concept makes a lot more sense than scrapping 10/15yr old vehicles.
In your opinion, what would be the life of a vehicle, after being retro-fit with such a Kit ?
Also, are there any plans of making similar kits for the Passenger vehicles [like the German start-up] ?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Check these threads by BHPian stuntfreak - some of your technical questions might have been answered here:
]

Thanks, interesting, but not about ze Germans, although they might well use a similar approach to some of the challenges. Great to see this sort of work being done.

Irrespective, I think these conversions are going to leave you with a sub-optimal electrical vehicle at best.

It might be a solution for some, but I am not sure whether these sorts of conversions will be necessary once the EV market is more mature and there is an abundant supply of affordable new EVs and good cheap second-hand EVs.

I know some people think these conversions will save the current-day (and future) classic cars. I am not so sure. The number of classic conversions is less than a minute. I don't think that any self-respecting classic car organisation would accept an electric conversion. Currently, they will deny you membership for far lesser things not being original.

Technically, these classic cars of 30-40 years or more are far more challenging to convert as well. At least in some aspects. Classic cars tend to be a lot smaller and lighter.

Technically I find it very interesting. Anybody spending time and resources on doing these conversions I applaud. But its not for me.

Jeroen

[AMG Power]

A friend of mine in the US has started a business of converting classic cars to EV’s.

This is Mercedes 280 SE that he was working on. The cost as you can see is $42,000 which includes $23,000 vehicle restoration and $19,000 EV conversion.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

A friend of mine in the US has started a business of converting classic cars to EV’s.

This is Mercedes 280 SE that he was working on. The cost as you can see is $42,000 which includes $23,000 vehicle restoration and $19,000 EV conversion.

Good for him! The cost does illustrate another reason why it does not make any sense to do electrical conversion. As it stands, spending $23,000 on a restoration on a 1982 MB 280 is money you will never ever recover. This is true for probably 95% of classic car restorations. You spend more money on it than it will ever be worth. Ask me how I know, I own five classic cars. I have spend on each easily the same amount as I purchased them for. But it never ever doubled their value. And I only buy the parts, all my labour comes for free as a labour of love.

Incurring additional cost for an electrical conversion makes it an even less attractive proposition. From a financial point of view that is. Of course, there might be people who would be happy to pay this sort of money, just to go electric. Good for them. They won’t be able to join the MB classic clubs. Worse of all, in this particular case, they are going to miss that MB 280 engine, which happens to be a very nice, smooth engine!

Each to its own though. Whatever floats your boat. Anybody working on cars has my vote regardless.

Here is an another interesting experience on classic car electrical conversions.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...-classic-cars/

Jeroen

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

The cost does illustrate another reason why it does not make any sense to do electrical conversion. Of course, there might be people who would be happy to pay this sort of money, just to go electric.

Perhaps electrical conversion of classic or modern era cars is because of current or future envrionmental regulations?

I think California state already has implemented laws restricting usage of classic cars. There is some chatter about Europe too following suit, especially in some zones.

Google "classic cars emission laws europe"

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Perhaps electrical conversion of classic or modern era cars is because of current or future envrionmental regulations?

I think California state already has implemented laws restricting usage of classic cars. There is some chatter about Europe too following suit, especially in some zones.

Google "classic cars emission laws europe"

Thanks.

Currently, in most European countries there are already exemptions for classic cars to enter low emissions zones and so on. One problem is that currently every country has its own “classic car rules”. The EU doesn’t even have an agreed definition of what constitutes a “classic car”. Every country makes up their own rule. Across the EU just about all countries have set dates for banning the sale of ICE, or at least traditional petrol and diesel vehicles. Again, every country has set their own deadline. But there is a strong push to harmonise all of this across the EU at least. Which will also include rules and regulations for classic cars and their use.

It can be pretty confusing taking a classic car across Europe these days. Different rules per country and even per city. (E.g. in Belgium there are different rules for Brussels and Antwerp).

California has always had one of the most stringent emissions regulations. I don’t think they have classic cars regulations. They have, as many countries have certain criteria for cars of a certain age. I seem to remember that for instance, cars predating 1975 don’t require a so called smog test in California. In many countries these dates were “rolling”, so every year those respective dates moved up a year as well. That appears to be a thing of the past.

Currently, rules of thumb in the EU is that a car needs to comply with the emission regulations that applied in the year of manufacturing. E.g.my 1982 Mercedes W123 still needs to comply with 1982 emission rules. That is to get it through its MOT, and it means it is legal and road worthy.

However, individual cities and regions might ban cars with higher emissions. We have seen endless examples and some of these ended up in court. In the Netherlands, cities such as Rotterdam had to reverse their low emission bans on old cars, due to a court ruling.

So the bottom line is all these regulations are pretty complex. But there appears to be a strong push and political willingness to see how classic car use-age can be accommodated in most of the EU. Not surprisingly as it is a massive industry employing hundreds of thousands of skilled people. And classic car useage is very limited. Average annual useage across the EU of cars over 30 years is about 1500 km a year. So in terms of pollution it is absolutely minute. Getting rid of all classic cars overnight is not going to get you a measurable improvement of air quality.

Jeroen