PluginIndia Turns One!

By Kamlesh

August 2016 Update
Way back in 2014 :) We have come a long way!  

Original Blog
September is a very exciting month for PluginIndia: it’s our birthday!
We are quite proud of how far we’ve come and that we could help so many people understand EV's and Clean Tech better. It’s been an exciting year for us at PluginIndia and we have made incredible number of friends in the EV and clean tech industry from around the world and have helped many people to buy electric vehicles and go green!
I have decided to compile some stories, reader comments, fun facts that we have gathered over the last year.

The Beginning
It all started with this tweet from Mr Anand Mahindra, who read our blog (back in the day we did not have this domain and hence used blogspot!), on the Mahindra e2o electric car.
Mr Mahindra's appreciation of our blog, showed that people looking at buying EV's would rather believe owners than the marketing people of companies.
Hence the motivation to start a portal on EV's and Clean Energy.  
Thus PluginIndia.com was born on September 2013 with the main aim of spreading awareness on electric vehicles and clean energy.

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What are we doing here?
Its good to take a step back and see what has happened over the last year in the EV and Clean Tech Industry and how PluginIndia has become an important source on of information for EV and clean energy followers.

• India's first 4 seater electric car - The Mahindra e2o was launched in March 2013. While many auto magazines, sites have joked about the product, we at PluginIndia felt that this 'Made in India' product was like no other in the Indian car industry. We dedicated multiple blogs on this liberating car. Here are 2 important ones.

                      1) The e2o owners blog 
                      2) The e2o vs Other Hatchbacks blog 
             The Mahindra Reva dealer in Pashan, Pune has personally told us that our blogs have sold many e2o's
             from his dealership.  
             That is all what we wanted to hear!  The more people using EV's ensure lesser oil used and more clean
             air in our cities! 

• Hero Electric is important player in the e-bike industry and our dedicated section on them illustrates how important they are going to be going forward for the EV industry. We hope Hero Electric launches next generation e-bikes soon. Stay tuned!
• We started the PluginIndia Clean Tech section to showcase clean energy 101's and DIY projects
• We not only write blogs but we would like users to tell their stories. Hence these two new sections
             1) Real Life EV Stories (Owners blog about their EV experiences)
             2) Real Life Energy Independence (Owners show case their Clean Energy initiatives)
• We also showcased an innovative startup - Ather Energy, who are going to launch their next generation e-bike in the Indian market.  They will showcase their project updates right here in PluginIndia!
• We highlighted the efforts made by Mahindra Reva, Hero Electric, Terra Motors at the 2014 Auto Expo
• PluginIndia was invited by Mahindra Reva to visit their factory, where we met Mr Chetan Maini. This showed the fact that Mahindra Reva recognises the work we are doing in helping more and more people understand the benefits of using EV's

• PluginIndia was the official Media Partner for India's only EV magazine. More information on the magazine will be out shortly.
• We also advise and recommend people to check out EV's and Clean Tech. Many of these people are hesitant on going for EV's and we answer their questions.

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What plans do we have for the next year?

• We launched PluginIndia Communities. We plan to do more offline activities trying to get people to showcase EV's and Clean Tech. Watch this space!
• More EV and Clean Tech product reviews. This is something we have not done more often. 
• More writers from the Industry.  We do have writers from the industry. But our vision is to have the EV industry to interact with the community more often. 
  From our experience, apart from Mahindra Reva and startups like Ather Energy, many companies we have spoke to don't show interest in interacting with the community more often.  But we will try out best!
• More user stories in our - Real Life Energy Independence and Real Life EV Stories sections.  We will need your help!  Spread the word. The more stories we have, the better!
• We seek to improve and find more innovative ways to spread the awareness of EV's and Clean Energy. We plan to start to start PluginIndia Audio Podcasts. Watch this space! 

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Reader Appreciation and Fun facts
I have been following www.pluginindia.com for a while now and i really like the articles you put on it.
Articles are informative, well written and fun to read. Please keep up the good work.
 - Sushant Ratnaparkhi

Thank you for your blog (on the Mahindra e2o). It's been of great help. Knowing a user's point of view was what we looked forward to. we aim to book this car in a week's time and will be able to share more then.
- Farah Halim

Great blog (on the Mahindra e2o). I have been trying to convince my family to go ahead n get reva e2o.. I hope with ur blog I'll be able to!
- Bindiya

Six months back, I had a test drive of this car and fall in love with this EV. I referred each and every review, video about this car on the net. But the site and blog provided by you is one of the best in its kind.
- Sudarshan Gophane

We have a celebrity follower - Chelsea Sexton, on twitter! 
Chelsea Sexton, is most notable for her role in the famous documentary 
Who Killed the Electric Car

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Final Words
We at PlugInIndia dream of having clean air in our cities and towns, not burdened by using imported oil.
We appeal to our readers to spread the word and do your bit in this huge transformation that will happen in the coming decade. Expect lots more from PluginIndia. This is just the beginning!