Reva to intro Li-ion car

Electric vehicles company Reva will be debuting its Reva Lithium-Ion vehicle soon.

Reva has created a new smart battery management system for the Li-ion, according to the company. Reva L-ion will be available in Norway, UK, France, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Belgium and Ireland from 2009 February. The reva is sold internationally under the name G-Wiz.

According to the company, the system is capable of tracking the performance of each cell for uninterrupted performance and it provides three years of battery warranty. The new electric car, powered by lithium-ion batteries, is expected to renew interest in the European car market. While sales of the G-Wiz have been good in Europe, the little electric car has also come under criticism for poor performance, minimal range and poor safety features.

The new Reva Li-ion car boasts of an increased range, faster acceleration, shorter charging time, less energy consumption, improved cold weather performance, maintenance-free battery operation and a longer operating life.

The Lithium ion technology, which had been under development is said to be based on the earlier Reva-I platform. Significantly, the company sells its current version as the world’s best selling city electric car. Reva has said that drivers can travel in the G-Wiz lithium ion battery car for about 120 km on a full charge with a speed of 80 km per hour. Recharging is much easier than before – in a hour, 90 per cent of the batteries would be charged in the case of Reva L-ion electric car. Its normal complete charging time is 6 hours with 80 per cent charge holding out up to 3.5 hours.

Meanwhile, closer home, Reva has entered into a deal with Reliance Digital, the consumer durables arm of Reliance Retail is all set to retail India’s first electric car from its various outlets across the country. In the initial phase, Reliance Digital will sell Reva cars through only its digital stores in Hyderabad and Delhi. This initiative will be extended to other cities at a later stage.