2013 Mahindra-Reva E20 all-electric hatchback launch to happen after the Union Budget in March 2013

Mahindra-REVA, an Indian electric car manufacturer has said that its latest offering, the E20 is ready to be launched into the Indian car market. In an interview with CNBC-AWAAZ Overdrive’s Joyneel Mukherjee, the President of Mahindra & Mahindra’s Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors and also the Chairman of Ssangyong Motor Company, Dr. Pawan Goenka said that the company is waiting for policy clarity from the Government regarding the subsidies for electric vehicles.

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2012 Mahindra Reva E2O Electric Car

Though the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, unveiled the National Electric mobility Mission 2020 a couple of weeks ago, the exact quantum of subsidy on electric vehicles is something that’ll arrive only in the 2013 Union Budget. The Indian Government had recently withdrawn subsidies for electric vehicles which were announced by former Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in the 2012-2013 budget. Dr. Goenka said that the company will be unable to price the E20 competitively if the Government does not provide any subsidies for electric vehicles and that the Government’s indecision on electric vehicle subsidies is the sole reason for the company to have not yet launched the E2O.

Mahindra-Reva is hoping the new Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, will re-introduce the subsidies announced for electric vehicles in the budget for the 2013-2014 financial year. The Union Budget of 2013 will be presented in the Indian Parliament on the 28th of February, 2013. If the Indian Government announces any subsidies for electric vehicles in this year’s budget, then Mahindra-REVA will launch their E20 electric car into the market by March 2013 this year was what Dr. Goenka told CNBC-AWAAZ Overdrive.

Finally, Dr. Goenka also confirmed that the Sub-4m version of their Verito sedan will be launched in three months time. While Team ICB has previously reported that the Sub-4m version of the Verito is likely to be launched only with the 1.5 L K9K Diesel Engine that currently powers the full size Verito sedan, Mahindra might also launch a more powerful version of the Sub-4m Verito strapped with the mCR100 engine borrowed from the Quanto. For now though, the 1.5 Liter K9K turbo diesel engine is what’s confirmed to power the Verito CS.

Source CNBC-AWAAZ/Overdrive TV Show