guardian.co.uk: GM to sell cheap (“competitive and affordable”) electric cars in India

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/24/gm-electric-car-india

GM to sell cheap electric cars in India

US firm announces joint venture with Reva, the firm behind the G-Wiz, but experts say demand will be low because Indian electricity supplies remain unreliable

Randeep Ramesh in Delhi
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 September 2009 15.36 BST

General Motors, one of the world's biggest carmakers, and the Bangalore-based company behind the http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/apr/16/electric-cars-travel-and-transport?picture=346001329">G-Wiz electric car have announced a joint venture to produce "affordable" electric cars in http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/india">India.

The new vehicle, which has been road-tested, will be based on GM's popular Spark hatchback, which in India costs a quarter of a million rupees (£3,000). Neither GM nor its partner, Reva, would be drawn on the electric version's price tag, though both said it would be "competitive and affordable".

GM, which only recently came out of bankruptcy, has developed its own http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/11/gm-claims-230mpg-for-electric-car">Volt electric-petrol hybrid for sale in 2010 in the US market, and has two car plants in India which can produce 250,000 vehicles a year. But analysts say that the take-up of any new electric model will be in the low thousands unless the Indian government creates a network of charging points.

As an interim measure, say GM executives, charging points could be installed at company dealerships and some petrol pump stations. But experts said an electric version of the Spark would only be attractive to urban drivers who could get reliable supplies of electricity and use the car as a runaround in the city.

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