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Interview - Walk the talk

Priyank Dahanukar
CEO at Electric Vehicle India
Electric Vehicle India (EVI), is an innovative startup from Mumbai, founded by Priyank Dahanukar. They have have designed and developed a plugin hybrid kit to convert existing oil based vehicle into a electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

A majority of the electric cars on the road in America and other countries are conversion vehicles. People with an interest in electric cars convert existing oil powered car­s to electric in their backyards and garages. 

However the story is different in India.  Any such conversion project will have to be approved by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). As of 2013, there are no norms for conversion of an existing petrol/diesel vehicle to run on an electric motor.

Priyank Dahanukar

EVI plans to change all of that. They are pursuing the licenses needed to legalize EV conversion kits in India. Once that happens, individuals can get their oil based cars and get them to run on electricity.

EVI is working on the validation programs that will fully meet the required automotive standards and is in talks with various OEMs and vehicle integrator's.  EVI is also developing systems suitable for next generation’s light sport vehicles. They have also filed patents for the technology developed.

PluginIndia.com spoke to Priyank about the plans for EVI and other topics

• Please tell us how you started the company - Electric Vehicle India, how the company has developed since then and what is the company doing currently?
  

             Priyank - Me and my co-founder were working on the idea for last 5 years. We started with the understanding of the electric motor 
             and then developed the new motors which are able to sustain high torque with low rpms which is necessary for automobile 
             purposes.

• Tell us more about your Conversion Kit. What are the components that go into the Conversion kit? 

             The kits consist of electric motor, controller, and a black box measuring 3ft x 2ft which consist of all the electronic equipment to run 
             the vehicle. The kit is primary for cars, commercial vehicles, buses, boats etc. But our individual motor and controller can be used 
             for any kind of transportation vehicle.

• Can this kit be used for oil based bikes too?
  

             No bikes cannot install our plugin hybrid kits. But we have a separate powertrain for EV bike manufacturers by which they can have 
             their bikes run at par the petrol driven bikes . A superbike can also be developed using our kit.

• What components of the conversion kit are manufactured in-house and what components are purchased from outside?  Do you import components like the Motors, Controller, BMS etc?
  

             Motors, Controllers, BMS is developed and manufactured inhouse. All other components are available in the Indian Market through 
             vendors. Batteries are imported.

• When it comes to conversions, how flexible is your kit to accept customization requests?
  For example, most AC motors marketed for EVs come with a controller, but some customers would like have a different controller, or some customers would prefer a battery-pack with more energy stored (kWh) in it but compensate on the power,
  some customers would prefer a clutch instead of an automatic transmission etc.

             We do offer customization to customers. EVI is offering 6 different kits for different cubic capacity of vehicles.
             These standard packs are very much sufficient for running vehicles. Additional battery packs can be added at extra cost.

• When batteries are placed inside the car does it affect the balance of the car and does it affect the driving, suspension, sudden breaking etc? This could especially be a concern for hybrid conversions.
  

             The weight of the batteries is bearable for the suspension and handling of existing vehicles. Also the 
             pack is installed in the luggage compartment of the vehicle which is built to take in more weight without any change in the drive
             feel.

• What is the weight of the conversion kit that will be placed inside the car? 
  

             The kit weights not more than 100 kilograms

• How does the conversion from a oil based car to an electric, stand with the Traffic Department? As of now, is it legal to change a car from Petrol to Electric?

             It is still not legal in India and we expect around a 4 year horizon for entire system to be placed by the Indian Government.
             But we are able to do projects in Europe and Africa as the government is very flexible with less red tape policies.
 

• Can you highlight a successful implementation of this kit in India or Abroad?
  

             We have done projects on cars such as Fiat, BMW, VOLVO, and few local car manufactures in Europe. 
             We are in talks with Indian OEM's. 

• Once the licenses/permits are granted and you are ready to sell the kit, assume a customer walks in and would like to convert his/her Tata Nano into a pure EV.  What would be the specification of each individual components like the motor, battery, controller etc, which could convert the Nano into a pure electric vehicle? What would be the estimated price?

             We are suggesting people to convert to a plugin hybrid first. Full EV has its own legal and commercial issues.
             We do suggestions based on the vehicle.  EVI has developed 6 different kits for different 'cc' of vehicles and accordingly we will be 
             suggesting the kit to the customer.  
             Cost will again vary depending on the vehicle. But it is EVI’s commitment to deliver the best product at a competitive price

• Do you have any plans to get into other aspects of the EV business like - creating and selling an electric car/e-bike?
  

            Yes we are talking to partners to whom we can act as vendors and consultants for creation of an EV.
            Right now we wish to focus on EV Power-trains.

• How do you envision the future of your company Electric Vehicle India, in say 3-5 years?
  

            The future is very bright for our company in Europe, Africa, South East Asia. The India Oems need to be receptive and act fast on the                 technology which we are offering and this will help our company to be a market leader in the product we are offering.

Contact Electric Vehicle India

172, Second Floor, Sunrays Shopping Center, Charkop Market, Kandivli West. Mumbai 400067

Phone : 08097881678
Email : info@electricvehicleindia.com /                                    electricvehicleindia@gmail.com
Website : http://www.electricvehicleindia.com
Blog : http://electricvehicleindia.wordpress.com/
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/electricvehicleindia

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