Altigreen’s latest product, the neEV Tez, may have worked out one of the biggest challenges associated with E3Ws: range anxiety.
The 15 minute rapid charge using Exponent’s e-pump rapid charger is expected to help drivers maximise their daily delivery trips. The vehicle comes with a flexible charging option and it takes an hour to charge from any Bharat DC001 charging station. This is 3.5 hours in the case of a 220V/16A AC socket.
The neEV Tez has been focused on the Delhi/NCR market as last mile deliveries have picked up quickly in the region coupled with the government’s push for electric vehicles. Delhi/NCR has 139 DC001 and 633 3.3kW AC chargers. Altigreen has been a strong L5 E3W supplier in the segment with over 4,000 units on the roads.
Debashis Mitra, Director Sales, Service and Marketing, Altigreen Propulsion Labs, told Mobility Outlook that technology was “going to keep us ahead”. Working with partners like Exponent Energy for charging solutions has helped bring charging time down to 15 minutes which, in turn, maximises uptime for fleet operators.
The vehicle has a rated 550 kg carrying capacity and costs about INR 3.7 lakh without the delivery box and INR 4.3 lakh with it. Mitra said the independent suspension improves stability and safety.
Akshat Modi, Strategic Partnerships Lead for Exponent Energy, said battery swapping has inherent problems like extra inventory, unpredictable performance and longer wait times. These regular li-ion batteries used by Exponent get charged quickly, come with an eight-year long warranty and assure high residual value. The water-cooled battery comes with a 3000 cycle warranty with an optional battery buyback option.
Operating costs for these L5 E3Ws have come down to INR 14,000 per month which is welcome news to fleet operators. Over 300 neEV Tez vehicles are operating in Bengaluru and covering 120 km on an average daily. Exponent will have 50 e-pumps installed in Delhi/NCR by March 2024 taking the tally to 150 by December.
Magenta Mobility has taken delivery of 200 neEV Tez vehicles for its Delhi fleet operations and Maxson Lewis, Founder & Managing Director, said it already has 322 units operating across the capital. “Every package that gets delivered has a carbon cost attached to it. We want to minimise this footprint and electrification is one of the most efficient ways of doing it,” he added.
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