Reva electric car to enter Japanese market with government subsidy

Mumbai: Reva, India''s first and only electric car has found a coveted place in the Osaka Auto Show, Japan, and has created a lot of excitement among car enthusiasts. The Japanese government, in a bid to promote electric vehicles, has provided a subsidy of $2,600 per car to Reva. The subsidy amount is given directly to the customer from the Japanese government once the car has been purchased.

Reva received the necessary government approvals for sale in Japan late last year. Reva will be priced between 1.29 million yen and 1.49 million yen, which is the price range for small- and mid-sized cars in Japan. Initially Reva will be offered in select cities through Takeoka Autocraft, which has a dealer base of 35 across Japan. Speaking of this new venture Chetan Kumar Maini, deputy chairman, Reva Electric Car Company said, "With city mobility being a key factor for countries like Japan, we hope to successfully cater to the needs of this market like we have done in the UK and Malta," he said and added, "Our foray into the Japanese market is a great challenge besides being a great achievement."

Osaka Auto Show is among the largest automobile events held in Western Japan, which brings together a wide variety of exhibitors, ranging from domestic car manufacturers to car importers.

The EEC-certified Reva is available in three variations — standard, A/C and Classe and is currently being exported to global markets like the UK and Malta and has been recognised as the most energy efficient electric vehicle by Power Shift of UK. The company is also test marketing in countries like the US, Switzerland and Norway. Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) was incorporated in 1994, to give India its first commercially viable zero polluting electric vehicle. Seven years of R&D has earned the company 10 patents and a globally accepted product.

Reva is present in markets like Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. RECC hopes to establish excellence and leadership in environment friendly urban transportation by offering the best value and highest quality electric vehicles for city mobility.