India's First Electric Vehicle Project In Nagpur

Nagpur became the first city in India to introduce India's first multi modal electric vehicle project last week. Managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd Pawan Goenka said "What we are witnessing today, is the beginning of an electric vehicle revolution. This project launched in Nagpur will prove to be a new model for the future."

The project comprises of a fleet of 200 electric vehicles (EV) including taxis, buses and E-rickshaws, which will operate on cab aggregator Ola's platform.

Ola cab driver Bhupendra Ramdas said "Of all the vehicles in the city today most of them are either petrol or diesel vehicles which pollute and cause a lot of harm."

CEO, Ola (ANI Technologies Ltd) Bhavish Aggarwal said "Ola will act as a catalyst for the entire ecosystem of manufacturers, policy makers, battery and electricity companies. Our country can be global leader in building up transportation, infrastructure and drive economic growth with minimal impact on environment."

Ola and Mahindra have built around 50 charging points spread across 4 bases in Nagpur. Ola cab driver said "In fast charging it takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours and 4-5 hours in normal charging. This is economical as it is a low cost, low maintenance vehicle. We are hoping this will considerably save any maintenance cost."

Accelerated adoption of electric and shared transport could save $60 billion in diesel and petrol cost and cut down 1 GT of carbon emissions by 2030.

Senior director Anand Subramanian said "The future of shared mobility is electric in a big way. Shared mobility in electric will change the way people travel in this country.