Kerala has always been known for taking revolutionary initiatives with a view to marching towards a better economy. Riding the Electric Vehicle revolution, and to meet the EV targets set by the country, the state-owned Kerala Automobiles Limited (KAL) recently launched NEEM-G, an indigenous electric auto rickshaw powered with German battery technology, making it the first PSU in the state to get the nod for commercial production.
Under National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP), which was unveiled during 2013, the Indian government is making plans to address the concerns of domestic manufacturing, environmental issues, vehicular population, and is expected to bring a major shift to electric vehicles by 2030.
Eco-friendly Transportation
A lot of debate is on to introduce eco-friendly vehicles to limit CO2 emissions from petrol/ diesel vehicles, and EV is the buzz around. When some of the forward economies successfully introduced e-mobility into their market, India was still in a nascent stage. Providing adequate charging infrastructure, power generation, usability of renewable energy, indigenous development of technology in the field of manufacturing efficient batteries and motors are some of the visible challenges of e-wastages to follow.
Many private companies are continuously working to meet the new demand of electric vehicles which includes two-wheelers, cars, three-wheelers, buses and many other transport vehicles. The Union Budget 2019 already made a point to encourage the EVs and FAME 2 schemes to ensure these are primarily made in India. Through NITI Aayog, the government has set 2023 as the deadline for replacing the current IC engine three-wheelers with EV three-wheelers. There are several EV three-wheelers introduced in the market, especially the non-branded ones which are easing their way into tier II cities with names such as Tuk Tuk, Toto, and so on. There are big plans by Mahindra, Bajaj and TVS to bring in new EV three-wheelers, but the entry of KAL, one of the oldest three-wheeler manufacturers in India, is making news for all the right reasons!
Neem-G: Affordable & Economic
Neem-G is a new electric three-wheeler indigenously developed and manufactured by KAL with German battery technology. It will be run at the cost of 50 paise/ km. The vehicle will use a 2KV motor. The battery will have a lifespan of 3.55 hours and may be charged with an ordinary three-pin plug. In one charge, it can cover a distance of 100 km. The electric auto does not require regular gear and clutch mechanism, and provision has been made for reversing the vehicle. The load gear will help the vehicle to climb steep inclines smoothly. Plus-points like low maintenance costs, less vibration, less sound pollution and lesser carbon gives it many advantages over petrol-diesel driven conventional auto rickshaws. The cost of the vehicle will be approximately Rs.2 lakh per unit.
Will Neem-G a game changer for KAL?
Started in 1978 as a Government of Kerala undertaking, KAL is located around 20km away from the city at Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram. For years, the company has been a pioneer in manufacturing three-wheelers (Diesel, Petrol, LPG & CNG) suitable for passenger and goods traffic. An ISO 9001: 2008 company, KAL has manufactured and marketed more than 1 lakh three-wheelers that have been widely accepted in the Third World countries. Neem-G is expected to be seen on Indian roads by September’19 and KAL is having big plans to deliver 15000 units within this year.
Future of Neem-G
The deadline set by the Government for shifting three wheelers to electric will definitely increase the demand for Neem-G. In addition, the cost-effective transportation will encourage common man to use public transport more often. We can expect other governments to start developing adequate infrastructure like charging stations, better roads for the smooth transition towards EV. The timely production, customer service and quality can make Neem-G a success brand in the emerging EV business.
