Ajanta Oreva electric car by 2009-10

A step up from the Oreva brand of electric scooters, the Ajanta Group is said to be fast racing toward launch of its small electric car. Significantly, the car which also has its manufacturing base in Gujarat, as is the case with the Tata Nano, is also expected to sell for Rs 1 lakh.

That is interesting indeed. The Reva has been our only electric car for close to, what, ten years now? And they have not managed to bring the price down to that level even after duty cuts. So how Ajanta Oreva will pull off that feat would be interesting to watch. No wonder they call it a car for the common man.

Personally, I would say, forget that Rs 1 lakh figure. We know the Tata Nano would cost Rs 1.25 by the time it reaches the customer. Same goes for the Ajanta Oreva too even if they manage that price point. Or is it just a way in which the company hopes to grab some attention, and later give us a new price? But then the company is not talking much – and we are not even sure if that price is what someone just picked up from the air.

Ajanta Oreva Super electric car - yes, thats the name. Updated. Click through for more

Ajanta says that the Oreva electric car could run 200-250 km on one full battery charge. The car, according to initial reports, will be able to seat four people. Expected to be rolled out by year 2009-2010, a demo model of the Ajanta e-car has been unveiled at a Rajkot showroom under the brand name Oreva.

Expected to bite off a major chunk of the market share that is currently enjoyed by the Reva electric car brand, the Oreva e-car from the Ajanta stables also hold enough potential to take on the Nano too. Meanwhile, a report from Rajkot has mentioned that the non-AC demo e-car, manufactured at the company’s Samakhiyali unit in Kutch district, where the Oreva e-bike is also made, is being priced between Rs 85,000 and Rs 1,00,000.  The final version of the car might be launched with an inbuilt air-conditioner, which means it would cost a little more than Rs 1 lakh. All guesswork, mind you.

Ajanta officials have been reiterating that the it is too early to reveal anything about the launch of the Oreva electric car. They are even not willing to comment on whether the company will start its mass production or not.

So there you have it. The Oreva electric demo car exists. No one knows who talked about the rs 1 lakh price. Maybe someone at the Rajkot showroom. Maybe a PR leak. We do not know if the car would make it into mass production.

So why are we carrying this story? Hope. We hope it would happen. We hope the Oreva electric car would not only run that rumoured 200 kilometers on a single charge, we also hope that it would have a reasonable top speed of 80-100 kmph – though we are willing to accept that at the top speed, the range might come down to say, a 100 kilometers. We also, really want to hope that the car would sell at the price point of the Nano to offer a real electric alternative to the Nano.

So here is a bunch of blessings and best wishes to Ajanta – now go ahead and make that car and let us know.