Mahindra Reva, owned by Mahindra Group, is slowly and steadily making progress in the Indian market despite limited scope. In a recent development, the company made an announcement regarding its association with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). Reports claim that these two entities will be working together to establish an infrastructure at the airport, which will facilitate the charging of electric vehicles. Industry experts feel that this sort of development is good for the automobile industry in general. Although the demand for electric vehicles is not much now, they have a lot of potential and facilities like these could be the way of future. The unit at Bengaluru airport is free for people who own Mahindra e20 and they get discounts in the parking as well.
Mahindra Reva is counted among the most experienced electric vehicle makers in the world. A joint venture between Maini Group and AEV LLC, the Reva Electric Car Company was acquired by Mahindra Group in 2010. According to company claims, it helped in exemplifying the Group's vision 'Future of Mobility'. Industry experts are of a view that developments like these, thereby, are really important in taking forward this vision and turning it into something material.
Not only is this a major happening for Mahindra Reva, it is also a great thing for BIAL as it would become the first airport in the country to have such an infrastructure. Also, Bengaluru is one of the most advanced cities in the country, thereby the decision to choose it seems quite logical. According to facts and figures, Bengaluru has the highest number of electric vehicles in India and it is the best city as far as the charging infrastructure for such cars is concerned. This can be seen by the fact that Mahindra Reva has completed the installation of charging points in excess of 100 all over the city. However, it is said that 95 per cent of the charging is done by consumers at home only.
Industry experts have praised the company for the smartness it has shown while designing the layout for locations of charging stations. As a result of this efficiency, customers will have access to a charging station every 5 km. These stations, situated all over the city, are located at areas like shopping malls, automobile garages, dealerships of Mahindra & Mahindra, retail outlets of Mom & ME and branches of State Bank of India. By adding BIAL to this list, Mahindra Reva has further extended its reach.
A lot of people were present at this announcement, which included top company officials as well. Chetan Maini, Chief Executive Officer at Mahindra Reva Electrical Vehicles Pvt. Limited, was also present and spoke about this new partnership. “We are happy to partner with Bangalore International Airport Limited and appreciate their belief in our vision of the future of mobility. Facilitating free EV charging at the airport will help customers to do affordable airport commutes from various parts of the city without any range anxiety. We look forward to working with the government and other entities to create an EV ecosystem for the adoption of zero emission mobility for cleaner and greener cities,” he was quoted as saying.
BIAL, in the past few years, has been pretty active in designing an efficient infrastructure. However, the most noticeable thing about the management at this airport is its effort to focus on the environmental issues and inculcating them in its infrastructure. G V Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director at BIAL, spoke about this development and its prospects. “Bengaluru International Airport has transitioned to an ecologically sustainable airport through various efforts. We are proud to have partnered with Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd in their efforts to create an enabling and sustainable environment. We look forward to support such alternative methods that help us work towards developing an environment-friendly airport,” he said.
