THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

June has proved to be the hottest month for EV launches. Here is the lowdown on why the future is electric.

The market for Electric Vehicles in India is booming at the moment and everything from high-end SUVs to sports cars to affordable SUVs are up for grabs. Although, this month, we witnessed the launch of quite a few more EVs spread across price brackets. From the affordable Tata Nexon EV Max to the scintillating BMW i4, the choices for electric are just as eclectic. Bond with the best.

Luxury’s conscience: The BMW i4

After introducing the BMW iX and the Mini Electric, BMW India has expanded its lineup of allelectric offerings with the i4 four-door coupe. Visually, the i4 is nearly identical to the 4 Series Gran Coupe, the car on which it is based with major differentiators being the EV-specific grille and badges all around. The cabin uses the BMW Curved Display housing 12.3-inch and 14.9-inch displays. Other features include a wireless smartphone charger, Harman Kardon sound system with 17 speakers, parking assist, sports seats, sports steering, 3-zone

automatic climate control, 470-litre boot space, 40/20/40 split rear bench and more. BMW has used a single rear-mounted electric motor rated at 340bhp and 430Nm of torque that can launch the i4 to a hundred in just 5.7 seconds. There is an 80.7kWh battery pack that allows for a claimed range of 590km (WLTP), and the i4 can be charged with a 50kW charger in 83 mins from 10-80 per cent.

Price `69.9 lakh (ex-showroom)

Kia’s futuristic EV6

The EV6 is the Korean brand’s first EV and flagship in India. While there are only 100 CBU (Completely Built Up) units earmarked for 2022, Kia has received more than 350 bookings and has promised to try and get all the bookings honoured at the earliest.

The EV6 is offered in two variants—GT Line RWD and GT Line AWD. The former uses a single rear-mounted 229bhp and 350Nm motor while the latter uses two motors mounted at either axle making a total of 325bhp and 605Nm of torque. The RWD can sprint from 0-100kmph in 7.3 seconds while the AWD does it in only 5.2 seconds. Both the cars use a 77.4kWh battery pack, but as the RWD only has a single motor, it has a 528k claimed range (WLTP) compared to 505km (WLTP) of the AWD. Charging can be done by a 350kW DC fast charger and takes only 18 minutes to juice the battery from 10 to 80 per cent while a 50kW DC charger does the same in 73 minutes.

Price `59.95 lakh (GT Line RWD); `64.95 lakh (GT Line AWD)