With the hiking fuel prices and degrading environment conditions, automobile manufacturers tend to go with Hybrid cars. So the recent time when you went to the petrol pump to refill your tank, what was the thing that bothered you most? Was it the greenhouse effect caused by your car or your emptying pocket? The later one seems more likely taking in consideration with the hiked fuel prices which don’t seem to stop at all.
Although the Indian automobile industry is on a boom as it stands to be the sixth largest passenger vehicle producer in the world, the hiked fuel prices have degraded the overall sales graph. The consumers are looking for a more economically viable and to an extent an eco-friendly vehicle which happens to be luxurious at the same time. The quest for such a vehicle ends up with Hybrid cars which use two or more distinct power sources to make the vehicle commutable.
In order to meet the profit maximization needs, automobile companies in India have strategized to produce Hybrid Electricity Vehicles(HEVs).We will be analysing a few of these which have promising future in the Indian market.
Toyota Prius Hybrid: The Toyota Prius is a midsized hatchback HEV. Prius offers and EPA-estimated 51mpg city/48 mpg highway/50 mpg combined. With the tailpipe emissions (per grams of Co2) of 82 gm./km. the Prius can be labelled as both energy efficient and eco-friendly car. The Prius is the world’s top selling HEV, by June 2013 its cumulative global sales reached over 3 million units. The Indian version of this vehicle is priced between Rs29.26L-31.43L .The price might be a major setback in the sales but it can be anticipated that the consumers might overlook this factor and can totally go for it.
Honda Civic Hybrid: The Honda Civic hybrid can be considered as the electric version of the Civic sedan as it consists all the luxurious features of a typical Honda Civic. It consists of a 1.5-liter i-VTEC inline-four those teams with an electric motor which produces 110 horsepower and torque of 127 lb-ft . With the help of continuously variable transmission, the pair can achieve 44mpg on the highway as well as the city- that's the best mileage of any Civic model.
Mahindra REVA e20: The Mahindra e20, previously REVA NXR, is an electric vehicle hatchback. The e20 which works on the REVA’s technology was launched in India in March 2013 at the price of Rs 5.96 lakh after a 29% subsidy received by the government, in Delhi. However, it will also be launched in other major cities i.e. Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad with the price being higher.
The electric car has a lithium ion battery pack that takes five hours to get fully charged and has an estimated weight of 830kgs. It delivers a range of 100km and a top speed of 80 km./ph.
The Hybrid version of cars is although not welcomed at an expected ratio but with the likes of Mahindra e20 there is a scope such automobiles in India.
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