Apart from this, Dr Goenka also revealed to PTI, that a price hike will soon be announced, affecting prices of Mahindra vehicles by 1-2%. He did not reveal which Mahindra cars will be affected by this price hike.
Mahindra Reva, the electric car company owned by the $15 billion Mahindra Group launched their new all electric two door car, called e2o in New Delhi for a starting price of INR 5.96 lakhs. But, the price of the same car ranges from INR 8 to 8.5 lakhs, in other Indian cities, thanks to no subsidy from respective state government.
Dr Goenka did not reveal a figure. At the launch if e2o in Delhi, he had stated that they would be happy if the e2o managed to sell 300-400 units monthly. But it seems the number is far less for the first month.
Mahindra promoted their e2o saying that it will save you as much as INR 4 lakhs in running costs every 5 years as compared to a petrol powered hatchback of same value. But if we replace the petrol car by a diesel powered car in the same comparison, the savings in running costs of e2o over five years decline to just INR 1.04 lakhs. That apart, e2o is costlier than diesel and petrol hatchback which offers much better performance and interior space. Here is an in-depth analysis of e2o vs petrol or diesel car.
Though the e2o does not need regular servicing, it needs a change in battery every 5 years. The lithium-ion battery pack of e2o is priced between INR 2-3 lakhs. This makes maintaining e2o even more costlier than a petrol or diesel car. No doubt, that e2o is the most advanced car one can buy in the segment today. Probably car buyers in India are not ready to shell more for an electric hatchback, at a price for which one could get an SUV or a sedan.