At the Auto Expo 2020 Mahindra & Mahindra launched the eKUV100 at the price of INR 8.25 lakh ex-showroom making it the country’s most affordable electric vehicle. The car was supposed to reach dealerships for sale later this year but according to a media report, the EV is likely to see some delayes due to the supply chain and manufacturing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lockdown imposed to contain the spread of CoronoVirus led to a temporary suspension of all operation including the shutdown of production facilities which has led to the EV being delayed for commercial availability. Mahindra also has plans to launch other products in the market such as the much-awaited all-new Mahindra Thar but that too is likely to be pushed further.
At their pavilion, at the biennial motor show, the brand also showcased the ‘e-XUV300’ which is an electric version of the brand’s popular compact-SUV, XUV300. The electric SUV is slated to be launched in 2021 and Mahindra is likely to have ample time to recover by then and keep the dates for its launch in-line with the original schedule.
Talking about the eKUV100 the car draws its design inspiration from the internal combustion engine counterpart but is styled with its own unique and distinguishing features such as a blue-accented closed shut front grille, charging point on the front fender with ‘ME’ (Mahindra Electric) badging, double barrel headlamps with blue inserts, bumper integrated fog lamps, X-theme front bumper, shoulder lines, blue-accented alloy wheels, integrated roof spoiler, roof ridges, X-theme rear bumper, blue inserts on the tail lamps etc.
Powering the eKUV100 is a 15.9 kWh electric motor coupled to a liquid-cooled battery pack and together they produce 40kW (54.4hp) of power and 120 Nm of torque. The battery provides a claimed range of 150 km on a single charge. The battery takes 5 hours 45 mins on a regular charger to be fully replenished and 55 minutes to attain a 100% state of charge using a fast-charging facility.
As the brand’s resume operations under guideline from the concerned authorities new timelines for the upcoming products are expected to be revealed soon.
