Ceylinco REVA electric Car launched
by Shirajiv Sirimane
Sri Lanka's first electric car, 'Ceylinco REVA' was launched in
Colombo yesterday. Initially the car would be imported from Bangalore
India and subsequently would be assembled in Sri Lanka.
The ‘Ceylinco REVA’ car |
Chairman Ceylinco Consolidated Dr. Lalith Kotelawala said that this
car would be the ideal car to overcome the rising cost of fuel. He said
that if more Ceylinco REVA cars were on the road it would reduce the
overall fuel consumption.
He said that they have made representations to the government to
explore the possibility of obtaining duty wavers and other concessions
to make the car more affordable for the public. "However this would take
some time," he said.
When the 'Ceylinco REVA' in locally assembled by the end of the year,
it would also bring down the cost of the vehicle. Chairman Maini Group,
of India, Sudharshan Maini, said that REVA car technology is the latest
in the world. It is 9 to 10 times cheaper than using a petrol vehicle
and has no "engine." As a result there is no radiator, plugs,
distributor, oil, crank, pistons, timing belts, fan belts and not even a
gearbox.
"The REVA on the other hand will run with minimum maintenance and
virtually no replacement parts and it's an ideal city car," he said.
The car that needs no mineral fuel can be charged in the way a
cell-phone is charged. When fully charged, it has a range of around 80
kilometers, irrespective of traffic conditions.
The car also has introduced a technology where there would be no
battery discharge when parked for traffic lights of traffic jams. "It is
estimated that over Rs. 20 million worth of fuel is wasted when the
vehicles are stopped at traffic lights of traffic jams," he said.
Two on-board computers and state of the art electronics provide the
Ceylinco REVA an efficient energy management system with advanced
computerized vehicle diagnostics. The Ceylinco REVA power pack consists
of eight 6-volt EV tubular type lead acid batteries. They are able to
achieve 80% charge in less than 2.5 hours.
Ceylinco REVA marketed by Ceylinco Maini (Pvt) Ltd, is now available
in the market.
REVA is already marketed in United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan and with
the left hand drive version being introduced soon it would be sold in
Europe as well.
HE said that the initiative taken by Chairman Ceylinco Consolidated
Dr. Lalith Kotelawala persuaded them to launch their vehicles in Sri
Lanka. "We are not looking at huge markets. However we are expecting a
high market from Sri Lanka.
He said that it took them nearly 7 years of research and an
investment of around Us 20 million to launch REVA which is gaining in
popularity. |