Tesla has yet to launch its electric car in India while homegrown automobile makers - Mahindra and Tata have heavy price tags of anything between ₹8-12 lakhs, for its electric cars range.

Breaking this cost barrier and bringing the affordability of electric cars closer to middle class Indians, a Mumbai-based startup called Strom Motors has just unveiled an electric car that would cost mere ₹3 lakh. The electric car however is of compact segment and unlike other e-cars has three wheels instead of four, thus its not as big as its bigger brand counterparts.

The car name is Strom R3 and has two-doors, single wheel at the rear and two wheels up front. It is available in three variants - R3 Pure, R3 Current and R3 Bolt, and two range options - 80 km and 120 km.

At the price range of ₹3 Lakhs it is truly the electric car that will appeal to every city dweller.

Founded in 2011 by Pratik Gupta - an ex-software intern at Motorola Mobility, Strom Motors aims to offer a fully air-conditioned 2+1 seater three wheeled reverse trike that is the perfect vehicle for today's urban youth, working professionals and young moms. The car costs 40 paise per km and can be parked in a space no bigger than 2 bikes.
The car's first two variants -- R3 Pure and R3 Current, come with a standard range of up to 80 km, which are upgradable, while the last and top-variant R3 Bolt offers a range of up to 120 km as standard.

[caption id="attachment_123879" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Image - Carandbike.com[/caption]

Notably, Strom R3 has charger of two kinds -- a normal charger that can charge Strom R3 in about 6-8 hours, and a fast charger that can charge the car with 80% power in 2 hours. The car, as Mahindra's Reva also uses electronic regenerative braking technology. Additionally, like the Nissan's electric car 'Leaf', the Strom R3 also uses a single pedal as the brake and throttle.

In terms of dimensions, the Strom - R 3 measures 2 , 907 mm in length, 1 , 450 mm in width, and 1 , 572 mm in height, with a 2 , 012 mm wheelbase.

Bookings for Strom R3 electric cars are already underway and the car is expected to officially go on sale by November 2018.

Strom Motors also claim that the R3 will be equipped with a remote assisted parking system which lets the driver park the car in tight spots using their phones.

The above news was first reported in NDTV Auto.

Earlier this January, IndianWeb2 reported that Hriman Motors, a Delhi-based startup, is working on building a 2-Seater electric car with a battery that will never need to be replaced and will be IoT-enabled. The car is expected to launch in mid of this year.

Elon Musk famed Tesla Electric cars are long awaited in India and though its not expected to be launched anytime soon, last December, someone in India had decided to privately import the Tesla X model to India. And, this marks the entry of India’s first Tesla vehicle.

In 2016, it was speculated that Tesla would launch its cars in India soon and even setup a manufacturing plant in India. Government of India did a lot to persuade Elon Musk but he remain unmoved with India's offers. In May 2017, he then finally revealed and announced (via Twitter) as why Tesla is not launching in India.

Speaking about India's plan for electric vehicle and infrastructure in India, the country unveiled 'National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020' in 2013 to address the issues of National energy security, vehicular pollution and growth of domestic manufacturing capabilities. Reiterating its commitment to the Paris Agreement, the Government of India has plans to make a major shift to electric vehicles by 2030. However, a draft of India’s 10-year energy blueprint has revealed that the government is expecting as much as 57 percent of the country’s total electricity capacity to come from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2027 -- a significant increase over the India's Paris agreement targets, which has asked the member countries to reach 40 percent non-fossil fuel electricity by the year 2030.

Last May, Indian government established policy think tank, Niti Aayog, released a report called Transformative Mobility Solutions for India wherein it revealed India's plan for electric cars and charging stations infrastructure.

In the same month, India’s home-grown cab hailing firm, Ola had launched - Ola Electric, India’s first multi-modal electric platform that includes electric autos, cars, and buses in Nagpur. Ola and Mahindra have had partnered with the Government of India in a first-of- its-kind programme to build an electric mass mobility ecosystem in Nagpur which will bring about a transformational change in the automotive and transportation landscape in the country.
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