I have always been an automotive fanatic and passionate about technology. My starting point was in 1990 at the University of Michigan, where I was part of the solar car team. We raced for 2000 to 3000 km in a car called the SUN Runner, fueled solely by solar energy and we came in 1st place. Later we were sponsored by General Motors to race in the World Solar Challenge. A fifteen-member team of students, eight of us being the core team, raced for 3000 km across Australia and came in 3rd, right behind Honda, beating a lot of OEMs. It was an eye-opener to be able to run on sun energy across a country – this was the future. My trips back to India in the early 90s saw a rapid rise in transportation and pollution. To me, electrics were going to be the clear solution for developing countries like India and China. This triggered me to work for an EV startup in America, called Amerigon, which led to the foundation of Reva Electric Car Company Ltd. In 1995, I began working on the REVA electric car, (named after my mother and means new beginnings) and then traveled around the world to understand the technology that existed. In 1999 I moved back to take Reva forward as bringing electric mobility and solar energy together was the dream.
What were the challenges that you faced in popularizing the REVA electric car in India? How much has the EV scenario changed from 2000 to 2018? In 2000 knowledge and awareness about electric vehicles was minimal: there was no supply chain or ecosystem, financing and investments were non-existent. Charging infrastructure was also lacking, we had to set-up the necessary infrastructure at homes, airports, workplaces etc. There were no manufacturers, regulatory framework or government policy.
Source: SUN Mobility
What inspired you to build an electric car for India and what were your aspirations back in 1999?
Today the internet has an abundance of information. Knowledge and awareness of EVs have increased; it is even present at the college level where students are building EVs. There are now hundreds of startups creating various solutions in this space. Aspects of regulation, taxation, a framework, and government policymakers are now present and playing an active role. Investments in the space have increased many folds, and supply chain in the EV industry has evolved. Therefore, as a nation, we have an opportunity to transform the current mobility system to a shared, connected and pollutionfree, sustainable mobility system by exploiting the very characteristics of the current system such as stop-and-go-traffic, pollution and energy security concerns. And, for the first time, all the stakeholders government, OEMs, infrastructure providers, and consumers have shown sincere intent and pledged serious commitment towards helping shift to a sustainable mobility paradigm using EVs. The need to reform our transportation sector from the government’s point of view is primarily due to growing concerns over the nation’s energy security (as India imports 80 per cent of its oil), traffic-congestion and health issues caused due to vehicular pollution.
In 2017, CarWale named you among the ‘Top Seven Indians who changed the face of Indian Motoring’. What role do you envisage for yourself at this stage of India’s transition to electric mobility? As India transitions to electric mobility, it is important to support the government and help it create a strong policy and regulatory framework to enable entrepreneurs and businesses to succeed. Secondly, it’s encouraging to see a large startup community focusing on this space. I have invested in a few and am mentoring some of them as well. Thirdly, through my experience in the field, I have learned that it’s vital to play a role in enabling a conducive ecosystem that allows multiple players to come together and create Indiacentric solutions from an engineering and business standpoint. The solutions that we adopt needs to be contextual to India. This is what we aim to do at SUN Mobility. By creating an open-architecture solution, we will allow multiple players to enter the EV space.
Could you comment on the pace of transition towards Electric Mobility in India? India is at a tipping point in electric mobility. The Government of India’s initial bold moves towards its target of going completeindiaesa.info/iesa-media/etn •
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