Gujarat has yet another ‘cheap car’ to offer to the world. This time, in the Electric-car segment. It comes from ‘Ajanta Group’ - well established in the electric 2-Wheeler market under the brand name ‘OREVA’.
The ‘Oreva e-car’ will be priced between Rs 85,000 - Rs 1 lakh making it the cheapest small car in India. The non-AC version is likely to be priced at Rs 85,000 and the AC variant will be priced over Rs 1 lakh. The Oreva is likely to be launched in Jan - Feb 2009, neck-to-neck with the Tata Nano launch and is likely to have an NiMH or lithium battery, rather than lead-acid with claimed range of 200-250kms-for every charge.
Stating that Tata Motors was fully committed to the Singur project, Kant said if everything went well as planned, then the Nano car would be rolled out from the plant during Durga Puja.”We hope to start trial production during July or August” he said. Asked whether there was a possibility of Nano being rolled out from any other plant of Tata Motors, Kant said, “Nano will be produced out of West Bengal”. Tata Nano will be out in the market from Tata Motors Singur facility in West Bengal by October this year in spite of the project facing cost overrun. Tata Motors ambitious Nano project has been facing cost overrun but the company is still trying to maintain the Rs one lakh car tag.
The ACS1 Cabrio package includes all the Schitzerfied exterior elements (new front bumper, rear bumper with diffuser and side skirts) and interior bits (silver carbon fiber trim, aluminum pedal and shifter, etc.) you’d expect. More importantly, AC is offering tuning packages for every model in the 1-series lineup, including the 135i, 120d and 123d. The two diesel mills get a bump in power to 200 hp and 240 hp respectively, with the 135i outputting 360 hp through the use of a revised exhaust and some ECU tweaks. Naturally, AC is offering up a plethora of wheel options, sized from 17- to 19-inches.
