India’s First Electric Car Happened 27 Years Before Tata Nexon EV’s Arrival

You would be surprised to know that India’s first electric car was launched 27 years prior to the Tata Nexon EV. The electrification in the automobile industry has been going on for a long time. However, since it was not mainstream, not a lot of people knew about it. In fact, there were such cases in various parts of the world. For instance, Eddy Current Controls India Limited showcased the Lovebird electric car at the Auto Expo 1993 in New Delhi. Let us check out the details of this vehicle.

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India’s First Electric Car

This video comes from Electric Vehicles India on YouTube. It captures a brief history of the Lovebird. It was officially the first electric vehicle on sale in India back in 1993. Unfortunately, there were no government subsidies at the time. Hence, it was not affordable for a vast majority of people. That is why the company only sold 25 units of this EV. Had there been FAME subsidies, which are currently boosting the EV sales in our market, we might still have the Lovebird running on our roads. In fact, the entire EV revolution might have occurred slightly earlier.

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Specs

Even though we are talking about 27 years ago, the Lovebird still boasted some pretty decent specifications. It had a 5 hp DC series motor. It was powered by a rechargeable Lead Acid battery which had a capacity of 5.4 kWh. A Mosfet chopper and transmission were used for torque multiplication to ensure smooth operation even on inclined roads with 15 degrees of gradient. The owners could charge it between 6 and 8 hours. The top speed was a usable 50 km/h. The production had to be stopped after the government stopped giving subsidies worth Rs 82,000.

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What We Think

While this news might be relatively common knowledge among automobile enthusiasts, we are certain that most regular folks would have no idea about it. That is why we bring you this information and would urge everyone to share it with others. It is incredible to comprehend that EVs have been around for so long. We might think that this is a new phenomenon. But the fact remains that it takes decades for any new technology to become mainstream. Even today, we are at the cusp of mass adoption of EVs. Still, there are tons of issues the electric mobility revolution is struggling with. With time, let us see how things pan out.

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