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Nepal overtakes India in accepting eco-friendly vehicle

Veeresh Malik in New Delhi

In these times of judicial emphasis on auto emissions, it is amazing but true that a product suitable for India awaits "approvals" while neighbouring countries lap it up.

Mahindra & Mahindra, manufacturers of the ubiquitous Jeep, tractors and other utility vehicles, have developed a very economical and efficient three-wheeled electric vehicle, the Bijlee.

The Bijlee is being sought to be introduced as a vehicle for short distance public transport, a worthy alternative to petro-fumes spewing taxis and autorickshaws in cities and towns. The vehicle can be also used as a cargo carrier.

The ten-seater is simple, economical and non-polluting. It has a top speed of about 40 kilometres per hour and can take 1,000 kilograms (a tonne) of cargo-load.

The Bijlee would cost about Rs 170,000 at current rates of duty and excise. Its battery range is estimated to be about 90-100 kilometres over the typical Indian driving cycle. Battery life is estimated to be about two-and-a-half years or about 60,000 kilometres. The 12 six-volt batteries can be either bought with the vehicle or leased separately.

India has not yet given the green signal to this green-friendly vehicle. But Nepal has gone ahead and placed orders for 200 units and also signed on an intent for 200 more, to replace the three-wheeler fleet in Kathmandu.

The Nepalese order permits usage of light-weight material like plexi-glass in the construction of the Bijlee, thus extending its range even more. The Indian laws, geared towards archaic 500cc three-wheelers of the World War II era, insist on heavy thick gauge steel and double laminated glass.

I test-drove the EV Bijlee, which is awaiting approvals from the Delhi government, around the Ridge Road and Mandir Marg areas. On board were four sandbags weighing 300 kg and three people.

The vehicle is a silent mover. In some aspects, it takes on the city streets like any other motor vehicle. Acceleration is deceptive, it feels like wallowing through kheer, but is actually quite good. This you realise when you look at the cars around you. But low top-speed means they pull away from you. Till you catch up at the next red light anyway!

The 72-volt DC motor is located longitudinally below the driver and passenger area, with a short 20-centimetre shaft feeding a reduction gear to a fully floating rear axle. The electric controller provides for regenerative braking and speed reduction, which feeds current back to the batteries.

Charging is through a normal domestic single phase 220V supply, and a full charge takes about eight hours and a maximum of 14 units. The cost of one unit of electricity in Delhi is Rs 2.40.

The cockpit is very simple, being a three-wheeler means you need no doors. Accelerator and brake by foot, neutral, reverse or forward by a small rotary switch, a steering wheel, indicator, light and horn controls on the stem and a hand-brake complete the basic requirements.

The rear compartment has been kept sensibly soft-top. Fit and finish are simple, bordering on crude, but that is how costs are kept low, presumably.

The overwhelming feeling about this new electric vehicle is, simply, that this is a basic solution for a very specific Indian need. Being a three-wheeler means it can go through every little lane in the country, being very basic means costs of purchase as well as maintenance stay low and being crude means it is hardy.

But most of all it means providing economical and clean public transportation where it is needed most, in the inner cities of our country.

If you want to see the Bijlee at work, maybe you will have to go to Kathmandu first! Perhaps, Indian engineering skills and common sense need to first win laurels abroad before they are granted recognition.

Photographs: Jewella C Miranda

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