E-Trio rolls out retrofitted electric vehicles
Set up in May 2016, E-Trio became the first company in India to get Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) approval for retrofitted car kits to go with Maruti Alto and Wagon R
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based E-Trio Automobiles which saw a big opportunity in retrofitting of electric cars has rolled out its first batch of vehicles comprising converted cars of Alto and Wagon R.
Set up in May 2016, E-Trio became the first company in India to get Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) approval for retrofitted car kits to go with Maruti Alto and Wagon R. The company has now applied for approvals for Tata Indica, Hyundai Santro, Mahindra Verito and Maruti Ritz which it hopes to get in the next 2-3 months.
E-Trio Automobiles founder Sathya Yalamanchili who witnessed the electric vehicle adoption in China, was determined to bring the technology to India to make the vehicles affordable and accessible.
E-Trio founder Sathya Yalamanchili told Telangana Today, “I built several prototypes of electric cars and was keen to bring a commercial car into the Indian market. With the help of professors in China and Stanford (US), I started working on a commercial model. We have now rolled out our first batch of vehicles from our Bolaram unit.”
The company has an integrated facility at Bolaram spread over an area of 60,000 sq ft that has a capacity make 1,000 cars every month.
On the car conversion, he explains, converting a pure petrol/diesel car usually takes around 24-36 hours. As a part of the conversion, all internal combustion parts will be changed such as engine, gear box, radiator and silencer.
The car conversion cost is upwards of Rs 3 lakh going up to Rs 5 lakh. Ideal for cab drivers and cab aggregators, the vehicles will cost 90 paise per km (operational cost) in terms of electricity consumed.
The electric Alto could have a range of 150km while Wagon will run 180km on a full charge. This could go up in future. For safety reasons, the speed is locked at 80 km per hour. More batteries can be added to customers looking for more range. The vehicles have regular chargers which can be plugged in the customer’s home wall socket.
E-Trio is also planning to bring an electric bicycle soon in both manual and electric models. In the electric category, they will be able to go up to 30 km per hour and 60 km per hour, in the form of two variants each costing Rs 20,000 and Rs 23,000. The electric bicycles will have a pay load of 125 kg and will themselves weigh 23 kg. Prototype is ready and commercial launch is expected by the end of March.
Source: telanganatoday
