All of a sudden, BMW has three EVs in its India portfolio
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MW was, amongst the legacy car makers, one of the pioneers of electric mobility in the world with a custom vehicle architecture that was then way ahead of its times. Even though it did not capitalize on that right in the beginning, but that head-start has given it the capability and the know how to reel off electric vehicle after electric vehicle, using traditional or new age platforms and it was only a matter of time when it would bring these to India. All of a sudden, it has not one or two but three electric vehicles in its India portfolio, and that does not even include the i3, that was its first BEV and it had first got to India for trials.
On the domestic front Tata Motors seems to be enjoying pole position and after exhibiting concepts for its second and third gen electric vehicles, it has added range and features to its first gen EV the Nexon. After driving it we have realized that it is making fast progress on the EV front, allaying apprehensions and providing viable solutions to a segment of the market that is quite substantial.
Staying on the EV story is a futuristic car from Kia, the EV6 that along with the BMW iX points to what vehicles are transitioning to in the near future and also highlights the fact that both Kia and Hyundai will be significant players in the EV world.
And next we have a car that has a bit of an EV in it – the new Mercedes C-class which seems to be celebrating its graduation with an additional 200Nm of torque spicing up all the variants. This issue also has the rest of the usual content as well including a face-off between the premium hatchbacks from Maruti and Hyundai – does the newly refurbished Baleno have what it takes to beat the i20? There are new motorcycles as well as updates on our long term fleet of cars and bikes and as we head into a spree of launches and some exciting times, stay safe, always buckle up no matter where you are seated in the car and wear a helmet when on a two wheeler. Let’s make sure that we stay safe on the roads!