Pune based Northway Motorsport has officially launched their EV conversion kit for Maruti Dzire and Tata Ace
Electric vehicles (EVs) will replace conventional automobiles powered by internal combustion engines in the long run. The transition process has already begun and gathered pace over the recent past. However, battery-powered vehicles currently form a very small portion of total mobility solutions in India.
In order to bring down emission levels, many pre-existing vehicles will have to be converted to electric power sources in the near future. However, limitation of such EV conversion kits has been a hindrance up until now. Pune-based Northway Motorsport has launched EV conversion kits for both passenger and commercial vehicles.
These are plug and play kits, says the maker. You don’t need to change anything else, except for removing the petrol engine from the Dzire, and install the EV kit. It uses the same mounting points as the petrol engine. The functionalities of other features like instrument console, AC, audio system, or even the manual transmission – all remains unaffected by this EV kit installation.
Conversion kit for Dzire
For Dzire, the firm has launched two separate conversion kits- Drive EZ and Travel EZ meant city and long-distance commutes. Both kits offer a single-charge range of 120 km and 250 km respectively.
While Drive EZ gets a charging time of 5-6 hours, charging time for Travel EZ is rated at 8-10 hours. Top speeds have been limited to 80 kmph for commercial purposes and 140 kmph for private usage.
Bookings for Drive EZ range has commenced at a token amount of Rs 25,000 with the final price of the conversion kit to be pegged around Rs 5-6 lakh. Bookings for Travel EZ range are expected to commence soon.
Conversion Kit for Ace
Northway Motorsport has launched two conversion kits each for Maruti Dzire and Tata Ace. Starting with the commercial vehicle, there are two ranges of conversion kits on offer with Ace- Shaandaar and Damdaar, the latter offering a higher range on a single charge although no specific details of a battery pack or electric motor are available. The Shaandaar EV conversion kit offers a range of 80-100km and is primarily designed for intra-city commutes.
Specifications of a battery pack or electric motor are not known as of now. Standard charging time is pegged at five to six hours for a full range while express charging time is rated at two hours. Top speed for private use is capped at 100 kmph while that for commercial usage has been limited to 80 kmph. The Damdaar range offers a higher battery capacity paired to a similar motor which offers a range of 160-190 kms on a single charge.
The standard charging time for Damdaar battery pack is six to eight hours whereas express charging time is rated at two hours. As of now, only the Shaandaar range is available for order. Interested consumers can book the consumer kit at a token amount of Rs 25,000 whereas the final cost of the conversion kit is slated to lie between Rs 4.5-5.0 lakh.
Service And Network
Northway Motorsport has partnered with Bhartiya EV or BEV to setup charging infrastructure as well as service points across India. In the first phase, the company aims to setup the dealer and charging network across Maharashtra. This is expected to be done in the coming 3-7 months. Post that the company will expand to other cities of India.
Though they will open dealers and service outlets, Northway Motorsport claims that users could still visit their OEM dealerships for parts and regular service. However, it remains to be seen if Maruti or Tata authorized dealers will provide spares and service to such converted vehicles.
